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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. rush — hurry
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. charge — a price
  11. net — for catching
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stock — shares
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. stock — goods
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. charge — electricity
  20. game — a match
  21. net — in sport
  22. charge — in control
  23. net — after costs
  24. game — a kind of play

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