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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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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: hide · deal · present · straw · cold · drill · chip · club

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. present — there
  5. present — the time now
  6. club — a group
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chip — to eat
  12. drill — the tool
  13. present — a gift
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. deal — to handle
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. club — for dancing
  19. drill — army training
  20. chip — for betting
  21. club — for golf
  22. cold — not warm
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cold — an illness

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