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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. tube — the underground
  4. spring — of water
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. land — to come down
  7. fall — to drop
  8. tube — a container
  9. dip — to sink
  10. stand — to bear
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. fall — the season
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bass — low music
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. bass — the fish
  24. stand — on your feet

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