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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chip — to eat
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. track — to keep track
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. chip — for betting
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. track — a song
  19. prune — to trim
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. track — a path

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