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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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. net — after costs
  4. pit — in a race
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. spell — a short time
  10. net — in sport
  11. face — to confront
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pit — a hole
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. spell — letters
  18. drill — a practice
  19. band — a music group
  20. drill — army training
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. net — for catching
  24. band — a ring

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