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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. face — to confront
  7. hand — help
  8. face — part of the head
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. hand — in cards
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bore — to drill
  17. face — to point toward
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bore — to tire
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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