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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. wound — an injury
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. kick — in football
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. hand — help
  18. dip — to sink
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. chair — a leader
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. deal — to handle
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. hand — part of the body

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