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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bat — the animal
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. firm — steady
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. content — happy
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. present — the time now
  14. firm — decided
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. content — the amount
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. firm — a company
  23. present — there
  24. wound — an injury

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