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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spring — the season
  4. chest — of your body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. content — happy
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. cue — for pool
  12. chest — a box
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. foot — a measure
  17. pit — in a race
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cue — a hint

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