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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. dip — to sink
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. snap — to click
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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