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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bass — low music
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. charge — in control
  7. cold — not warm
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. charge — electricity
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chest — of your body
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cell — in biology
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. charge — a price
  23. cell — a phone
  24. chest — a box

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