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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pound — a weight
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. row — to paddle
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. kid — child
  7. band — a ring
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. row — a line
  11. dip — to sink
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. lie — to recline
  14. stem — to come from
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. kid — to tease
  18. band — a music group
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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