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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mate — a partner
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kick — in football
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. track — to keep track
  13. hand — help
  14. mate — to breed
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wake — a trail
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. track — a song
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. track — a path
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. root — of a word

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