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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rest — what's left
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. rest — what's left
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. kick — in football
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chest — a box
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. deal — to handle
  24. rest — a break

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