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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bark — to shout
  3. track — a path
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. kid — child
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lean — to bend
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. dip — to sink
  15. track — to keep track
  16. kid — to tease
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — thin

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