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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bat — the animal
  7. land — ground
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. tube — a container
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. land — to come down
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to sink
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. tube — the underground
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. land — a country

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