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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. swing — music
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. mate — a partner
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. saw — the tool
  11. ground — crushed
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pound — a weight
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fall — the season
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. swing — in golf
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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