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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. swing — to play on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cold — not warm
  12. swing — in golf
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. shower — rain
  18. lie — to recline
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — to handle
  21. mark — a trace
  22. swing — music
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. lie — an untruth

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