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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — low music
  13. drill — the tool
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stand — to bear
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. sharp — clever
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. drill — army training
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. drill — a practice

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