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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. spring — the season
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. chest — of your body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. band — a music group
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cap — a hat
  10. saw — the tool
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. squash — the sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cap — a lid
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cap — of ice
  18. squash — to crush
  19. band — a ring
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chest — a box
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. chest — of your body

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