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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stock — goods
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. chest — of your body
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. fine — high quality
  10. spell — letters
  11. stock — shares
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bass — the fish
  14. spell — magic
  15. cap — of ice
  16. plane — a tool
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bass — low music
  21. spell — a short time
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. chest — a box

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