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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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. spell — magic
  3. bass — the fish
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bass — low music
  8. season — of the year
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wound — an injury
  13. season — in sport
  14. spell — letters
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. wound — an injury
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. staff — employees
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. staff — employees
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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