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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 116 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. row — a line
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. land — a country
  8. fine — high quality
  9. land — to come down
  10. saw — the tool
  11. land — ground
  12. charge — a price
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. spring — of water
  18. charge — electricity
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. charge — in control
  22. row — to paddle
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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