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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bound — tied together
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. fall — the season
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — certain
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — magic
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. roll — a list
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mine — for digging

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