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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. club — for golf
  3. tear — to rip
  4. club — a group
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. mate — a friend
  8. content — happy
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. field — farmland
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. field — a subject
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. swing — to play on
  15. mate — a partner
  16. swing — music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mate — to breed
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. club — for dancing
  21. field — for sport
  22. content — the amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. swing — in golf

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