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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 120 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: pit · present · kid · rule · cold · hide · straw · stem

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. present — the time now
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rule — a law
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rule — government
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cold — not warm
  15. present — there
  16. kid — child
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. present — a gift
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. straw — a straw man

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