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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wound — an injury
  3. firm — a company
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. court — for sport
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. cold — an illness
  15. capital — money
  16. firm — decided
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bore — to drill
  19. chip — for betting
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bore — to tire
  22. firm — steady
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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