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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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 — dry grass
  3. land — to come down
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mug — a face
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chip — to eat
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. land — a country
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. land — ground
  22. chest — a box
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. hide — animal skin

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