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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. track — a path
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spell — magic
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spell — a short time
  11. kid — child
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. kid — to tease
  17. clip — a video
  18. spell — letters
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. sharp — clever
  22. clip — to cut
  23. track — a song
  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