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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. face — to point toward
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. key — for a lock
  8. cue — a hint
  9. face — to confront
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cue — a signal
  13. ball — a dance
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. key — in music
  16. row — a line
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ball — a great time
  20. key — the most important part
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cue — for pool
  23. dip — to sink
  24. row — to paddle

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