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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — not warm
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. court — of a king
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. firm — decided
  10. court — of law
  11. bank — of a river
  12. court — for sport
  13. firm — a company
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bank — for money
  18. firm — steady
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bank — for money
  22. tube — the underground
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. tube — a container

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