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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: kick · hide · field · content · wave · chest · straw · rock

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kick — in football
  6. content — happy
  7. field — farmland
  8. content — the amount
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rock — music
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. field — a subject
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chest — of your body
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. field — for sport
  24. chest — a box

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