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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 124 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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Word bank
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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 · coach · bay · wave · hide · net · toast · spring

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. net — after costs
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. net — for catching
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. spring — of water
  10. net — in sport
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. spring — the season
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spring — a coil
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. toast — bread
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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