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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pop — soda
  3. rock — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. branch — a division
  7. pop — to visit
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. net — in sport
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pop — music
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. net — after costs
  22. rock — a stone
  23. net — for catching
  24. cold — the Cold War

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