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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. drill — army training
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. drill — a practice
  5. can — to be able to
  6. hand — help
  7. can — a tin
  8. last — finally
  9. field — a subject
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. drill — the tool
  14. field — farmland
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. press — newspapers
  19. can — a tin
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. field — for sport
  24. hand — in cards

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