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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — to come down
  3. band — a music group
  4. sharp — clever
  5. land — ground
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. drill — army training
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. band — a ring
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. drill — a practice
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. tube — the underground
  21. land — a country
  22. mine — for digging
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mine — belonging to me

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