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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. content — the amount
  8. spell — magic
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. content — happy
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. rock — a stone
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bank — for money
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. spell — letters
  19. bank — of a river
  20. fall — the season
  21. spell — a short time
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bank — for money
  24. plane — a tool

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