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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 120 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 laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. deal — to handle
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rash — a series
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bat — the animal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. cap — a lid
  17. ground — a position
  18. chest — a box
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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