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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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468
Word bank
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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cold — an illness
  7. present — the time now
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rash — hasty
  11. pit — a hole
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. mate — to breed
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rash — a series
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wave — with your hand

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