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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. land — a country
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. band — a music group
  7. key — in music
  8. land — ground
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. band — a ring
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. land — to come down
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. key — for a lock
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. key — the most important part

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