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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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. wave — with your hand
  3. pop — to visit
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. row — a line
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pop — music
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. drill — the tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. craft — boats
  17. pop — soda
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. drill — army training
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bay — a horse colour

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