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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: vault · straw · hide · cold · press · board

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. board — a committee
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cold — not warm
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — to push
  12. board — to get on
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. vault — a safe
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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