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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. march — music
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. row — to paddle
  9. last — final
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. march — the month
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. last — finally
  18. mine — for digging
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. row — a line
  22. march — the month
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. last — to go on

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