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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · cold · snap · hide · face · deal

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cold — not warm
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. deal — to handle
  7. face — to confront
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. 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