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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ground — the earth
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chest — of your body
  7. season — of the year
  8. court — of law
  9. chest — a box
  10. swing — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. ground — crushed
  17. season — in sport
  18. tear — to rip
  19. file — a tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ground — a position
  22. file — a line of people
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

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