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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. spell — letters
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bore — to drill
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bore — to tire
  13. mine — for digging
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. deal — to handle
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. spell — a short time
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spell — magic

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