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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · coach · nail · row · cold · land · plane · hide

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  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. row — to paddle
  2. land — ground
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cold — an illness
  8. plane — a tool
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. land — to come down
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. land — a country
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cold — not warm
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  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