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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: bat · bear · straw · rest · snap · pit · hide · drill

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. drill — army training
  11. pit — in a race
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bear — the animal
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. snap — to click
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pit — a hole
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rest — what's left
  21. drill — a practice
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rest — a break

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