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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. pop — soda
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pop — music
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bound — certain
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — of water
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rush — hurry
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bound — obliged
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. spring — the season
  22. bound — tied together
  23. rush — a thrill
  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