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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hand — help
  10. spring — of water
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hand — in cards
  24. prune — the fruit

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