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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. chair — a leader
  3. object — a thing
  4. band — a ring
  5. object — an aim
  6. clip — a video
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bat — the animal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. object — to protest
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. band — a music group
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. lie — an untruth

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