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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. last — final
  5. pass — a permit
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. last — finally
  11. kid — child
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. net — in sport
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. net — for catching
  18. spell — letters
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stock — goods
  21. net — after costs
  22. last — to go on
  23. dip — to sink
  24. pass — to spend time

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