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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rash — hasty
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rock — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. stock — shares
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. stock — goods
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rock — a stone
  23. perch — the fish
  24. hide — to keep secret

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