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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. object — an aim
  7. object — to protest
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mark — a trace
  20. object — a thing
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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