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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. ground — the earth
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. scale — in music
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. track — to keep track
  10. ground — crushed
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. track — a path
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. track — a song
  21. ground — a position
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. scale — size or range
  24. leaves — to go away

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