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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. last — finally
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. object — a thing
  10. object — an aim
  11. shower — to wash
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. spring — of water
  14. object — to protest
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. last — to go on
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rash — hasty
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. last — final
  23. rash — a series
  24. hide — to keep secret

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