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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. prune — to trim
  4. net — after costs
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. net — in sport
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. saw — the tool
  15. net — for catching
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bound — obliged
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — an illness

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