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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. capital — a city
  5. cold — an illness
  6. capital — money
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cold — not warm
  12. row — a line
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. row — to paddle
  16. chest — a box
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wake — a trail
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — to breed

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