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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bound — obliged
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bound — tied together
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. spell — a short time
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. game — wild animals
  10. spell — letters
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. spell — magic
  13. bound — certain
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. ground — a position
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — a lid
  19. kick — in football
  20. ground — crushed
  21. game — a match
  22. cap — of ice
  23. rush — hurry
  24. ground — the earth

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