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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: date · straw · snap · bay · fine · cabinet · game · stick

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. snap — to click
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. date — the fruit
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — all right
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. date — on the calendar

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