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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. spell — magic
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. clip — for paper
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. spell — letters
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spell — a short time
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. capital — a city
  15. clip — a video
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. capital — money
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lie — to recline
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. cell — in biology

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