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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · swing · hide · sharp · bowl · spring · chair · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. sharp — clever
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hand — help
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. chair — a leader
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. spring — a coil
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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