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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. net — after costs
  8. pitch — completely
  9. net — in sport
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. mine — for digging
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. net — for catching
  21. rush — hurry
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. chair — a leader
  24. hide — animal skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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