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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. squash — to crush
  3. firm — decided
  4. degree — an amount
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. degree — temperature
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. file — a document
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. lean — to bend
  13. firm — steady
  14. file — a tool
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. file — a line of people
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. lean — thin
  20. firm — a company
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — from a university
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. squash — the vegetable

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