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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. shower — to wash
  4. hand — help
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. march — the month
  7. rash — hasty
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. march — music
  10. shower — rain
  11. hand — in cards
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rash — a series
  19. cue — for pool
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cue — a hint
  22. march — the month
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cue — a signal

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