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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cap — a hat
  8. clip — for paper
  9. row — a line
  10. clip — a video
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cap — of ice
  13. clip — to cut
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bulb — for light
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bulb — for light
  20. craft — boats
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. squash — to crush
  24. hide — to keep secret

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