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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. spell — magic
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cap — a lid
  9. season — of the year
  10. cap — of ice
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spell — a short time
  16. game — wild animals
  17. tear — to rip
  18. game — a match
  19. spell — letters
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. season — in sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cap — a hat
  24. game — a kind of play

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