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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wound — an injury
  4. net — after costs
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. game — a match
  7. net — for catching
  8. mark — a trace
  9. fall — to drop
  10. game — wild animals
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. mark — a grade
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fall — the season
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hand — help
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. net — in sport
  24. hide — to keep secret

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