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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — to protest
  14. last — final
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cold — an illness
  17. can — a tin
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wound — an injury
  21. object — a thing
  22. can — a tin
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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