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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pass — a permit
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. land — ground
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. content — the amount
  14. object — to protest
  15. content — happy
  16. object — an aim
  17. land — to come down
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. land — a country
  21. roll — a list
  22. wound — an injury
  23. roll — a cake
  24. object — a thing

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