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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. chest — of your body
  5. season — of the year
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. root — of a word
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. scale — in music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. root — the cause
  14. chest — a box
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. scale — size or range
  18. root — of a plant

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