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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — the season
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — an illness
  15. game — a match
  16. march — music
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. fall — to drop
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cap — a hat
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. perch — the fish
  23. fall — to drop
  24. trunk — of a tree

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