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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. march — music
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cold — an illness
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. can — to be able to
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wound — an injury
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wound — an injury
  22. march — the month
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. arm — part of the body

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