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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 120 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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cap — a lid
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cap — of ice
  6. scale — in music
  7. rash — a series
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. scale — size or range
  12. cap — a hat
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. foot — a measure
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — a video
  20. perch — the fish
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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