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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 124 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rock — a stone
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rock — music
  16. mine — for digging
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. scale — in music
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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