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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bay · row · press · nail · vault · straw · racket · tear

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tear — from crying
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. press — to push
  8. tear — to rip
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tear — from crying
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. vault — a safe
  18. row — to paddle
  19. press — newspapers
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. press — a publisher
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. row — a line

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