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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mate — a partner
  3. content — happy
  4. shower — rain
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. mate — a friend
  10. scale — in music
  11. mate — to breed
  12. squash — the sport
  13. content — the amount
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rush — hurry
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — a tool
  21. scale — size or range
  22. squash — to crush
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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