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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. mark — a trace
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pop — music
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wound — an injury
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. capital — money
  18. pop — soda
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. saw — the tool
  21. capital — a city
  22. snap — to click
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. pop — to visit

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