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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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Word bank
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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 · pit · sharp · perch · straw · rock · stand · clip

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. rock — a stone
  9. sharp — clever
  10. perch — the fish
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — in a race
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rock — music
  24. clip — a video

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