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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. track — a path
  3. last — finally
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. last — final
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chip — for betting
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. track — to keep track
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. chip — to eat
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — not warm
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. track — a song
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. last — to go on
  23. net — for catching
  24. chip — in a computer

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