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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bass — low music
  7. court — of a king
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bass — the fish
  10. foot — a measure
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. sharp — clever
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. court — of law
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. court — for sport
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. foot — part of the body

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