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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. last — final
  3. lie — to recline
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. last — finally
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. last — to go on
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mark — a grade
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fan — a supporter

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