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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. season — in sport
  3. lean — thin
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. kid — child
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. land — to come down
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. season — of the year
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. lean — to bend
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — to tease
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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