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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bound — certain
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a hole
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wake — a trail
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bound — obliged
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. tear — from crying
  17. spell — magic
  18. vault — a safe
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bound — tied together
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spell — letters
  24. tear — to rip

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