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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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 — to keep secret
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. prune — to trim
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. row — to paddle
  8. board — to get on
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. row — a line
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. prune — to trim
  18. board — a committee
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. capital — money
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. arm — a part of something
  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