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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. face — part of the head
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. sharp — clever
  7. spell — letters
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. spell — a short time
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pound — a weight
  13. shower — to wash
  14. fine — high quality
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. shower — rain
  17. spell — magic
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. sharp — exactly

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