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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pound — a weight
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wind — moving air
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — boats
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. wake — a trail
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cold — not warm

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