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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. lie — to recline
  3. cold — not warm
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spring — a coil
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. spring — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cold — an illness
  18. snap — to click
  19. ball — a great time
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cap — a hat
  22. spring — the season
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cap — of ice

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