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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. ball — a dance
  4. suit — to fit
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. suit — in cards
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. suit — clothes
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ball — a great time
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. branch — a division
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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