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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. root — of a word
  3. ball — a dance
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. season — in sport
  7. clip — a video
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. season — of the year
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. ball — a great time
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. clip — for paper
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. clip — to cut
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a plant
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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