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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 124 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bound — obliged
  4. spring — a coil
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. content — happy
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. spring — of water
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bound — tied together
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bound — certain
  19. spring — the season
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. content — the amount
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. content — videos and posts

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