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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: hand · fall · content · straw · bear · club · rock · hide

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. club — a group
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fall — to drop
  5. content — the amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hand — help
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. fall — the season
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. club — for golf
  15. content — happy
  16. rock — a stone
  17. club — for dancing
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rock — music
  24. hand — part of the body

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