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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. squash — to crush
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. fall — the season
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hide — to keep secret

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