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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cap — a hat
  3. foot — a measure
  4. firm — steady
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. firm — a company
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — the fish
  15. branch — a division
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cap — of ice
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. firm — decided
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. cap — a lid

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