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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 have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chest — a box
  4. ground — a position
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. game — wild animals
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. tube — a container
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pop — soda
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pop — music
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pop — to visit
  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