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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rest — a break
  7. game — a match
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. band — a ring
  10. rest — what's left
  11. face — to confront
  12. rest — what's left
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. date — the fruit
  15. band — a music group
  16. prune — to trim
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. game — wild animals

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