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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. ground — a position
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. clip — a video
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mate — a friend
  21. clip — to cut
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wind — to turn a key

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