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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. field — farmland
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. ball — a great time
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chest — a box
  13. tear — from crying
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — a stone
  19. tear — to rip
  20. saw — the tool
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. rock — music
  24. ball — a dance

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