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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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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: hide · chair · cold · straw · craft · mine · bowl · track

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — boats
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. track — a path
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chair — a leader
  14. track — to keep track
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. track — a song
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. hide — to keep secret

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