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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. club — a group
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. lean — thin
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. snap — to click
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. lean — to bend
  14. club — for dancing
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. club — for golf
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. spring — of water
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. spring — the season

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