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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. lean — to bend
  5. capital — a city
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — high quality
  9. pop — to visit
  10. last — to go on
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pop — music
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. capital — money
  23. deal — to handle
  24. pop — soda

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