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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. band — a ring
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bound — obliged
  7. stock — shares
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stock — goods
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. root — of a plant
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bound — tied together
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. lean — thin
  19. cold — not warm
  20. root — of a word
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. band — a music group
  23. bound — certain
  24. root — the cause

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