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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. season — in sport
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. prune — to trim
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. season — of the year
  12. wound — an injury
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cold — not warm
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. perch — the fish
  20. drill — the tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. prune — to trim

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