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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. staff — employees
  3. wound — an injury
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. club — for dancing
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wind — moving air
  14. club — a group
  15. wound — an injury
  16. club — for golf
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. branch — a division
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bat — the animal

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