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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. wind — moving air
  7. saw — the tool
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. ground — crushed
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. sharp — clever
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — to wash
  15. saw — the tool
  16. swing — music
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. swing — to play on
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. swing — in golf
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. wind — moving air

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