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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 120 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. key — in music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fall — to drop
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cap — a lid
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. key — the most important part
  23. game — a match
  24. pitcher — a jug

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