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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cap — a lid
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cap — of ice
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. clip — a video
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cap — a hat
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitcher — a jug

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