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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. key — for a lock
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. face — part of the head
  16. key — the most important part
  17. face — to confront
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. key — in music
  21. chair — a leader
  22. plane — a tool
  23. dip — to sink
  24. face — to point toward

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