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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. fall — the season
  3. mug — a cup
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bore — to tire
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a face
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bore — to drill
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rash — a series
  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