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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fall — to drop
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spring — the season
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. spring — of water
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. spring — a coil
  24. fall — the season

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