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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — to come down
  3. drill — the tool
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. staff — employees
  6. drill — a practice
  7. capital — a city
  8. rush — hurry
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. root — the cause
  11. staff — employees
  12. root — of a plant
  13. staff — a stick
  14. land — ground
  15. root — of a word
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. drill — army training
  18. capital — money
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. land — a country
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. rush — to hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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