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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. cap — of ice
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. track — a song
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cap — a lid
  11. club — for dancing
  12. track — to keep track
  13. chest — of your body
  14. club — for golf
  15. chest — a box
  16. club — a group
  17. kick — in football
  18. track — a path
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. hide — to keep secret

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