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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 116 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. fall — to drop
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. ground — crushed
  8. plane — a tool
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. hand — help
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. ground — a position
  15. field — farmland
  16. fall — to drop
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fall — the season
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. branch — a division
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. ground — the earth

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