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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. clip — a video
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bank — for money
  8. last — finally
  9. degree — temperature
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bank — for money
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bank — of a river
  14. degree — from a university
  15. clip — to cut
  16. last — to go on
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. last — final
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wind — moving air
  24. degree — an amount

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