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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 120 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: land · fall · hide · straw · deal · mug · tube · wind

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. land — a country
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fall — the season
  5. deal — to handle
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. tube — a container
  12. mug — to rob
  13. wind — moving air
  14. land — to come down
  15. tube — the underground
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. mug — a face
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mug — a cup
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. land — ground
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. wind — to turn a key

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