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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. field — farmland
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. chair — a leader
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. deal — to handle
  12. field — a subject
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bark — to shout
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. deal — an agreement

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