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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 116 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spring — the season
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pit — a hole
  17. row — to paddle
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. kid — child
  21. spring — of water
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wax — for sculpting

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