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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — for digging
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. shower — rain
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rock — music
  16. march — the month
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. march — music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. march — the month
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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