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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chest — a box
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. shower — to wash
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. shower — rain
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. lie — to recline
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. chest — of your body
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. season — in sport
  24. chest — of your body

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