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

Word bank: tear · chair · spell · wave · bay · row

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. 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. bay — a horse colour
  2. tear — to rip
  3. row — a line
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. row — to paddle
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spell — magic
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. 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