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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — ground
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. last — final
  5. row — to paddle
  6. spell — letters
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stand — to bear
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. row — a line
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. land — to come down
  20. spell — a short time
  21. last — finally
  22. spell — magic
  23. land — a country
  24. last — to go on

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