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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. fine — high quality
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. tube — a container

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