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

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fine — high quality
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. perch — the fish
  10. fine — all right
  11. cold — not warm
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wake — a trail
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. tear — to rip
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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