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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — hurry
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. kick — in football
  13. spring — of water
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. lie — to recline
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitch — completely
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pitch — a sports field

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