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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 116 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 · cold · snap · hide · face · deal · tube · track

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. snap — to click
  9. tube — a container
  10. track — a song
  11. face — to point toward
  12. tube — the underground
  13. face — to confront
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. face — part of the head
  23. track — a path
  24. deal — to handle

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