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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. track — a song
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. drill — army training
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. chest — a box
  11. track — a path
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. drill — the tool
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. drill — a practice
  21. scale — size or range
  22. track — to keep track
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. nail — for a hammer

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