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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: prune · rock · bay · hide · capital · cold · deal · tear

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cold — an illness
  10. deal — to handle
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. capital — a city
  17. tear — to rip
  18. capital — money
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rock — music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rock — a stone
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tear — from crying

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