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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. hand — help
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. sharp — clever
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. tear — from crying
  17. game — a match
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. game — wild animals
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cold — not warm
  24. sharp — with an edge

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