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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. march — music
  6. bound — certain
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cue — a hint
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cold — an illness
  13. march — the month
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bound — obliged
  16. content — the amount
  17. cue — a signal
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bound — tied together
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wind — moving air
  24. content — happy

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