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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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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: snap · rash · kick · straw · hide · cue · wound · stick

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. cue — for pool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kick — in football
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. cue — a hint
  14. snap — to click
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rash — a series
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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