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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mark — a grade
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bat — the animal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. clip — a video
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. mark — to pay attention

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