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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fall — to drop
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. content — the amount
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — happy
  13. net — for catching
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. net — in sport
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. clip — a video
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. net — after costs
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. clip — for paper

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