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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: straw · face · bear · row · hide · stick · tube · spring

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. face — part of the head
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bear — the animal
  6. face — to confront
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. spring — the season
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. row — a line
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spring — a coil
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spring — of water

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