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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 120 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mine — for digging
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. hide — to keep secret

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