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

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. row — a line
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pitch — completely
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. toast — bread
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bore — to drill
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. drill — army training
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bore — to tire
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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