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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. net — for catching
  3. chest — of your body
  4. last — final
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. net — in sport
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — after costs
  9. chest — a box
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. last — finally
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. last — to go on

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