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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wax — to grow
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pop — soda
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pop — music
  16. clip — a video
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. kick — in football
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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