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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. track — a song
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — the animal
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. present — a gift
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. track — a path
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wind — moving air
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. present — there
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. present — the time now
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. track — to keep track

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