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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. hand — help
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. scale — size or range
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. scale — in music
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bat — for baseball

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