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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. mark — a grade
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. chest — a box
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cold — an illness
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mark — a trace
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bulb — for light
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chest — of your body

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