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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mine — for digging
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wax — to grow
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chest — of your body
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. coach — a trainer

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