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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. row — to paddle
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mate — a partner
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cap — a lid
  8. face — part of the head
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. row — a line
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cap — of ice
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. kid — child
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. cap — a hat
  20. face — to confront
  21. spring — a coil
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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