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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. kid — to tease
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. staff — employees
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. staff — employees
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. swing — in golf
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. lie — to recline
  19. clip — a video
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. swing — to play on
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. swing — music
  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