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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. last — to go on
  3. march — the month
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. press — newspapers
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. press — to push
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. deal — to handle
  10. root — of a plant
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — an illness
  13. root — the cause
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. last — final
  16. root — of a word
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cold — not warm
  19. last — finally
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. press — a publisher
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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