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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. chair — a leader
  4. last — final
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. clip — for paper
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. club — a group
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — finally
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. pit — a hole
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. clip — to cut
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. last — to go on
  20. club — for golf
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pit — in a race
  24. ruler — for measuring

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