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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. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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. ground — a position
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mark — a trace
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ground — crushed
  10. season — in sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. spell — letters
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. season — of the year
  19. shower — rain
  20. spell — magic
  21. cold — an illness
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a grade

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