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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. cap — of ice
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. court — of law
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. swing — in golf
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. roll — a list
  11. bat — the animal
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. court — of a king
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. court — for sport
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. cap — a hat
  24. tear — from crying

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