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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — a signal
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fall — the season
  18. face — to confront
  19. cue — for pool
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. fall — to drop

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