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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. fork — in a road
  4. track — a song
  5. last — to go on
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. scale — size or range
  9. last — finally
  10. track — a path
  11. scale — in music
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bound — certain
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bat — the animal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bound — obliged
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. last — final
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. straw — dry grass

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