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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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. hide — animal skin
  4. court — of law
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. branch — a division
  8. court — of a king
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. mine — for digging
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. stock — goods
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. court — for sport
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cold — an illness
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stock — shares

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