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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. season — of the year
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. shower — to wash
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. key — the most important part
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — an illness
  13. march — the month
  14. key — for a lock
  15. march — music
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. shower — rain
  18. key — in music
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. season — in sport
  22. march — the month
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cold — the Cold War

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