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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. foot — a measure
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. branch — a division
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bat — the animal
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. chest — a box
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. court — of law
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. date — on the calendar

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