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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cap — of ice
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. lean — thin
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chest — a box
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bass — low music

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