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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pop — soda
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. last — to go on
  22. cold — not warm
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cold — an illness

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