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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. net — in sport
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — a safe
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. net — after costs
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. dip — to sink
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. chip — to eat
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. shower — to wash
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. shower — rain
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. chip — for betting

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