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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. court — of a king
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. court — for sport
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. sharp — clever
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rush — hurry
  24. court — of law

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