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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wake — a trail
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. squash — to crush
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chair — a leader
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bore — to drill
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bore — to tire
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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