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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 stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. club — a group
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mine — for digging
  19. fall — the season
  20. bat — the animal
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. club — for golf
  24. straw — dry grass

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