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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. drill — the tool
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cell — a phone
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. stock — goods
  9. row — to paddle
  10. stock — shares
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. drill — a practice
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. row — a line
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cell — in biology
  23. drill — army training
  24. dip — to sink

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