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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. snap — to click
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pit — in a race
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cap — of ice
  11. ground — a position
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cap — a lid
  21. pit — a hole
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. ground — the earth
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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