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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 124 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 are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bound — obliged
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. perch — the fish
  6. spell — letters
  7. march — the month
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bound — tied together
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — magic
  12. last — to go on
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. content — the amount
  16. spell — a short time
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. march — music
  20. bound — certain
  21. content — happy
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. march — the month

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