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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. fall — to drop
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pop — soda
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. degree — temperature
  10. court — of law
  11. degree — from a university
  12. court — for sport
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pop — music
  15. game — a match
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. court — of a king
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pop — to visit
  24. fall — the season

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