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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. plane — a tool
  3. spell — magic
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. pound — a weight
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cold — an illness
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. spell — letters
  21. cold — not warm
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. spell — a short time
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com