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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mug — a face
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. track — a song
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. capital — a city
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. track — a path
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. row — a line
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. capital — money
  19. row — to paddle
  20. content — happy
  21. hand — help
  22. track — to keep track
  23. mug — a cup
  24. content — the amount

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