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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spell — letters
  3. land — to come down
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — to visit
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — the animal
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. spell — magic
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. squash — the sport
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. squash — to crush
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pop — music
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. dip — to sink
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. spell — a short time

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