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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. net — for catching
  4. clip — for paper
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. clip — a video
  9. spring — of water
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. staff — employees
  12. squash — the sport
  13. spring — the season
  14. net — in sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. net — after costs
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. staff — a stick
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spring — a coil
  23. staff — employees
  24. jam — in traffic

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