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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. object — to protest
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. object — an aim
  14. present — the time now
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. present — there
  19. wake — a trail
  20. object — a thing
  21. cold — an illness
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. lash — to lash out

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