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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. prune — to trim
  3. roll — a cake
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. land — ground
  10. bass — low music
  11. land — to come down
  12. bore — to tire
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a dance
  16. prune — to trim
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bore — to drill
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. land — a country

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