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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. kid — to tease
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. fine — high quality
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. wake — a trail
  13. kid — child
  14. fine — all right
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. foot — a measure
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. tear — to rip

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