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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. root — of a word
  3. board — a committee
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. root — the cause
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — the animal
  11. kick — in football
  12. season — in sport
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. season — of the year
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. root — of a plant
  22. board — to get on
  23. rash — a series
  24. kick — a thrill

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