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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. charge — in control
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mark — a trace
  9. cell — in biology
  10. kid — child
  11. mark — a grade
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. prune — to trim
  15. charge — a price
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. charge — electricity

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