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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. shower — to wash
  4. lie — to recline
  5. wake — a trail
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — rain
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. branch — a division
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cell — in biology
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cell — a phone
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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