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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. tear — to rip
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. game — a match
  6. spring — of water
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. game — wild animals
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. spring — a coil
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rash — hasty
  20. tear — from crying
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rash — a series
  23. plane — a tool
  24. spring — the season

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