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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. game — a match
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bat — the animal
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. track — to keep track
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. spring — the season
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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