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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 116 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. firm — steady
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bear — the animal
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hand — help
  11. firm — decided
  12. march — music
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — a phone
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bear — the animal
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. firm — a company
  24. cell — in biology

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