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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bass — the fish
  3. court — of a king
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. court — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. tear — from crying
  12. court — of law
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. swing — to play on
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bass — low music
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. swing — in golf
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. swing — music
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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