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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. tear — from crying
  7. game — wild animals
  8. tear — from crying
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. game — a match
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. cell — in biology
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cap — a hat
  21. tear — to rip
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cap — of ice

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