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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 116 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: drill · straw · deal · tube · hide · club · object · hand

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tube — a container
  3. club — for golf
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. drill — the tool
  6. hand — help
  7. object — a thing
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. deal — to handle
  10. club — a group
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. drill — a practice
  17. object — an aim
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. drill — army training
  21. club — for dancing
  22. object — to protest
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. hand — in cards

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