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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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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: saw · coach · kid · straw · hide · stock · dip · cold

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. kid — child
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — not warm
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. dip — to sink
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. stock — goods
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. saw — the tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. stock — shares
  23. saw — the tool
  24. coach — a trainer

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