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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. field — for sport
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. staff — employees
  10. charge — in control
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. charge — a price
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. staff — a stick
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. field — a subject
  22. cold — not warm
  23. field — farmland
  24. staff — employees

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