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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. lean — thin
  6. foot — a measure
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cap — of ice
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. game — a match
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. snap — to click
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. hide — to keep secret

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