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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. fall — to drop
  8. shower — rain
  9. wake — a trail
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. drill — the tool
  13. sharp — clever
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. drill — army training
  21. bank — of a river
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. hide — animal skin

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