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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: mate · cold · calf · firm · hide · straw · bound · chest

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chest — of your body
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bound — certain
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bound — obliged
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. firm — steady
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bound — tied together
  16. firm — decided
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chest — a box
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mate — to breed

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