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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 116 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bore — to tire
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bore — to drill
  16. saw — the tool
  17. ground — crushed
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. ground — a position
  22. tear — to rip
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. ground — the earth

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