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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 124 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. scale — in music
  3. board — a committee
  4. face — to point toward
  5. object — to protest
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. shower — to wash
  8. face — to confront
  9. cold — an illness
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — a thing
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. shower — rain
  16. cold — not warm
  17. band — a music group
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. band — a ring
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. face — part of the head
  23. scale — size or range
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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