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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. toast — bread
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. roll — a cake
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. band — a ring
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. fall — the season
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. band — a music group
  17. roll — a list
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. band — a rubber band
  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