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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. mate — a friend
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — steady
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. firm — a company
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mate — a partner
  12. perch — the fish
  13. mate — to breed
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. date — the fruit
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. straw — a straw man

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