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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 took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. drill — the tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. clip — a video
  8. tear — to rip
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. drill — army training
  15. shower — rain
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. drill — a practice
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. cabinet — ministers

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