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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. last — to go on
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. last — finally
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hand — in cards
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. scale — in music
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. hand — help
  17. shower — rain
  18. last — final
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. shower — to wash
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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