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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — for paper
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bore — to drill
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bore — to tire
  8. roll — a list
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. clip — a video
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. clip — to cut
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cold — not warm
  24. roll — on a roll

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