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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: nail · saw · hide · land · straw · perch · pit · bass

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bass — the fish
  5. land — a country
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bass — low music
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. saw — the tool
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. land — to come down
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pit — in a race
  24. land — ground

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