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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rush — hurry
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. board — to get on
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. board — a committee
  21. kid — child
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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