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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mate — a friend
  4. ground — a position
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cap — a hat
  15. branch — a division
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cap — of ice
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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