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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. staff — a stick
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tube — a container
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. tube — the underground
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. last — to go on
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. saw — the tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. kid — to tease
  20. last — finally
  21. kid — child
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. saw — the tool
  24. last — final

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