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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. mark — a grade
  8. lean — to bend
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lean — thin
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. snap — to click

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