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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. spell — magic
  4. present — there
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. spell — letters
  8. present — a gift
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. swing — to play on
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. present — the time now
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. swing — music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bat — the animal
  23. spell — a short time
  24. hide — to keep secret

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