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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 116 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rush — hurry
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. present — the time now
  11. wake — a trail
  12. present — there
  13. hand — help
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ball — a dance
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ball — a great time
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. present — a gift
  24. rush — a thrill

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