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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. cap — a lid
  3. can — a tin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. can — a tin
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. date — the fruit
  8. swing — in golf
  9. can — to be able to
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. swing — music
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cap — of ice
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cap — a hat
  23. tear — from crying
  24. swing — to play on

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