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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. root — of a plant
  7. chest — of your body
  8. hand — help
  9. chest — a box
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. band — a ring
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rule — government
  17. band — a music group
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. root — the cause
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. root — of a word
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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