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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 stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. net — in sport
  6. fall — to drop
  7. current — electric
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. net — after costs
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. squash — to crush
  18. fall — the season
  19. net — for catching
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. squash — the sport
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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