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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pit — a hole
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. clip — a video
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wind — moving air
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wake — a trail

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