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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. sharp — clever
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. season — in sport
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. land — a country
  15. season — of the year
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. land — ground
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. land — to come down
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. mine — for digging

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