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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. branch — a division
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. shower — to wash
  11. swing — to play on
  12. date — the fruit
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. wound — an injury
  15. toast — bread
  16. wound — an injury
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. shower — rain

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