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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — to come down
  7. shower — to wash
  8. row — a line
  9. land — ground
  10. net — for catching
  11. ball — a dance
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. land — a country
  17. row — to paddle
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. ball — a great time
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. net — after costs
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. hide — to keep secret

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