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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. kid — child
  3. chest — a box
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cold — not warm
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bat — the animal
  11. shower — rain
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. face — to confront
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. face — to point toward
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. kid — to tease

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