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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · bay · cold · dip · track · spell

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. track — to keep track
  7. spell — magic
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. kick — in football
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kick — a thrill

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