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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. capital — money
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. board — to get on
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bound — obliged
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. mark — a trace
  17. branch — a division
  18. bound — certain
  19. cold — not warm
  20. capital — a city
  21. mark — a grade
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bound — tied together

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