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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. dip — to sink
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. roll — a cake
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. degree — an amount
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — a video
  17. can — a tin
  18. roll — a list
  19. can — to be able to
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. degree — from a university
  22. clip — to cut
  23. can — a tin
  24. dip — a sauce

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