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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hand — in cards
  4. plane — a tool
  5. race — a contest
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. game — wild animals
  16. drill — a practice
  17. game — a match
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. patient — a sick person

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