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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rest — what's left
  4. saw — the tool
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. club — for golf
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rest — a break
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. drill — a practice
  12. clip — a video
  13. sharp — clever
  14. club — a group
  15. clip — to cut
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rest — what's left
  21. club — for dancing
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. drill — army training

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