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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. snap — to click
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tube — a container
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tube — the underground
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. chair — a leader
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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