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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. file — a document
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bound — obliged
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a tool
  19. stand — to bear
  20. fall — the season
  21. branch — a division
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. hide — to keep secret

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