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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. spell — a short time
  5. band — a music group
  6. march — music
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. game — wild animals
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. march — the month
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. spell — letters
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. band — a ring
  17. march — the month
  18. game — a match
  19. dip — to sink
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. spell — magic
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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