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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. clip — for paper
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. clip — a video
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. lie — to recline
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. last — finally
  11. field — a subject
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pitch — completely
  14. field — for sport
  15. last — final
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. branch — a division
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. field — farmland
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. clip — to cut
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. last — to go on
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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