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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. snap — to click
  4. land — ground
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. track — a song
  9. tear — from crying
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tear — from crying
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. tear — to rip
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. land — a country

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