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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: snap · pitcher · spell · march · nail · tear · bay · row

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. tear — from crying
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. row — a line
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — magic
  11. tear — to rip
  12. march — the month
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. spell — letters
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. snap — to click
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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