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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 opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. can — a tin
  4. chair — a leader
  5. clip — for paper
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. can — to be able to
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. field — a subject
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. season — of the year
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. straw — dry grass

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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