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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. face — to confront
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. last — to go on
  6. clip — to cut
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. object — to protest
  9. face — part of the head
  10. track — to keep track
  11. club — a group
  12. track — a song
  13. club — for dancing
  14. track — a path
  15. object — an aim
  16. face — to point toward
  17. season — of the year
  18. object — a thing
  19. clip — a video
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. clip — for paper
  23. season — in sport
  24. club — for golf

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