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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. face — to confront
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. staff — employees
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. shower — to wash
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bat — the animal
  9. race — a contest
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. row — a line
  13. race — humankind
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. shower — rain
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. face — part of the head
  20. race — the arms race
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. row — to paddle
  23. staff — employees
  24. fan — to cool the air

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