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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mate — a partner
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. file — a tool
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fall — the season
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wax — to grow
  15. land — ground
  16. mate — a friend
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. craft — boats
  22. fall — to drop
  23. file — a document
  24. craft — a skill

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