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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 116 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. court — of law
  11. mark — a trace
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wind — moving air
  14. squash — to crush
  15. scale — in music
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. court — for sport
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. court — of a king
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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