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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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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: cold · pit · sharp · saw · content · rash · spring · bay

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rash — hasty
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. spring — a coil
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rash — a series
  19. cold — not warm
  20. spring — of water
  21. saw — the tool
  22. spring — the season
  23. content — the amount
  24. cold — an illness

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