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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. face — part of the head
  6. present — a gift
  7. face — to confront
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bat — the animal
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. present — there
  12. cell — in biology
  13. spring — the season
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. present — the time now
  16. cell — a phone
  17. face — to point toward
  18. spring — of water
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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