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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. bay — to keep at bay
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. drill — army training
  4. content — happy
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cap — of ice
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cap — a hat
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wake — a trail
  16. drill — a practice
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. lean — thin
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cap — a lid
  22. content — the amount
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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