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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 was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. spring — of water
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. fall — the season
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cell — a phone
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bank — for money
  15. spring — the season
  16. rash — a series
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bank — for money
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bank — of a river
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chest — a box
  23. cell — in biology
  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