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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. rest — what's left
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kid — to tease
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. capital — money
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. race — humankind
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. snap — to click
  20. kid — child
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. capital — a city
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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