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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. lie — to recline
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. tube — a container
  11. land — ground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. land — a country
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. land — to come down
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rush — hurry
  24. straw — a straw man

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