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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 116 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 opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. can — a tin
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. fall — the season
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. can — a tin
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fall — to drop
  10. band — a ring
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cap — of ice
  16. fall — to drop
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wound — an injury
  22. can — to be able to
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. band — a music group

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