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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. capital — a city
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. board — a committee
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cold — an illness
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. capital — money
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. drill — a practice
  15. board — to get on
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — the tool
  20. present — there
  21. tear — to rip
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  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