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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cap — of ice
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. rash — a series
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. march — the month
  16. dip — to sink
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cap — a hat
  21. march — music
  22. rash — hasty
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. cap — a lid

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