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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: ball · cold · fork · pop · chair · lie · bay · suit

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. suit — in cards
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. pop — to visit
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chair — a leader
  16. pop — music
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pop — soda
  19. suit — to fit
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. suit — clothes
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. lie — to recline
  24. ball — a round shape

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