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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 124 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. dip — to sink
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mug — to rob
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mug — a face
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. prune — to trim
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — to come from
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. mug — a cup
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. dip — to dunk

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