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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. tube — a container
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. tube — the underground
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. cap — a lid
  10. row — a line
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cap — of ice
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wake — a trail
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. clip — a video
  24. ruler — for measuring

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