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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. pop — music
  8. spring — the season
  9. craft — boats
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. board — a committee
  12. pop — to visit
  13. spell — magic
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. board — to get on
  17. spell — a short time
  18. craft — a skill
  19. cold — not warm
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spell — letters
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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