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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. hand — in cards
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. content — happy
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. hand — help
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. season — in sport
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. content — the amount
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wound — an injury
  24. patient — a sick person

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