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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 116 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — music
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. capital — money
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bound — tied together
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bound — certain
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. march — the month
  24. bat — for baseball

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