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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. firm — a company
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chest — of your body
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. chest — a box
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. ground — a position
  12. saw — the tool
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. swing — music
  16. firm — steady
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. swing — in golf
  19. chest — of your body
  20. swing — to play on
  21. firm — decided
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. saw — the tool

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