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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hand — in cards
  3. key — the most important part
  4. lean — thin
  5. court — for sport
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. key — for a lock
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. lean — to bend
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. face — part of the head
  12. hand — help
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. court — of a king
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. court — of law
  20. face — to point toward
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. key — in music
  23. stock — shares
  24. face — to confront

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