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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: ball · drill · pit · hide · hand · straw · swing · snap

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. drill — army training
  4. ball — a great time
  5. swing — to play on
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. snap — to click
  9. hand — help
  10. pit — in a race
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. swing — music
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ball — a dance
  15. swing — in golf
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pit — a hole
  23. drill — a practice
  24. hide — animal skin

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