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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. last — to go on
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bark — to shout
  9. season — of the year
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. last — final
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. sharp — clever
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. season — in sport
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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