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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 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. shower — rain
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ground — crushed
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. ground — a position
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ground — the earth
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. pass — a permit
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. pass — to succeed

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