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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. net — after costs
  4. last — to go on
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. net — for catching
  11. lie — to recline
  12. chest — of your body
  13. last — finally
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. chest — a box
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. net — in sport
  19. last — final
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — a hat

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