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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spring — a coil
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spring — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spring — of water
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. shower — rain
  16. key — in music
  17. bore — to tire
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bore — to drill
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lie — to recline
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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