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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. shower — rain
  7. pop — music
  8. court — for sport
  9. cold — not warm
  10. shower — to wash
  11. row — a line
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pop — soda
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. pit — a hole
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. cabinet — ministers

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