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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bat — the animal
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. rush — hurry
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. staff — a stick
  16. tear — to rip
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rock — music
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. coach — a trainer

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