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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. track — a song
  3. spell — magic
  4. cue — a signal
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. lean — to bend
  8. track — a path
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spring — of water
  13. spell — letters
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cue — a hint
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cue — for pool
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. hide — to keep secret

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