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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. present — the time now
  3. court — of law
  4. present — there
  5. shower — to wash
  6. drill — the tool
  7. rule — a law
  8. shower — rain
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. court — of a king
  13. present — a gift
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. drill — army training
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rule — government
  22. court — for sport
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. wound — an injury

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