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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. lean — to bend
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. file — a tool
  13. bound — tied together
  14. lean — thin
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. file — a document
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. snap — to click
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ground — a position

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