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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. fall — to drop
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. dip — to sink
  9. fall — the season
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. saw — the tool
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. fall — to drop
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bass — the fish
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bass — low music
  24. straw — dry grass

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