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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. drill — army training
  5. tear — to rip
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chest — of your body
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — music
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. drill — a practice
  15. chest — a box
  16. swing — in golf
  17. drill — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — the month
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. swing — to play on
  22. march — music
  23. pound — a weight
  24. chest — of your body

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