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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. land — to come down
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. march — the month
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. row — a line
  11. pass — a permit
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. march — music
  15. land — ground
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. season — of the year
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. land — a country

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