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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rush — hurry
  5. field — a subject
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. clip — a video
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. field — for sport
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. field — farmland
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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