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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 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. march — the month
  3. lie — to recline
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. face — part of the head
  6. march — music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cold — an illness
  10. face — to point toward
  11. march — the month
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. face — to confront
  18. lie — an untruth

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