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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. board — to get on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. row — to paddle
  9. clip — a video
  10. row — a line
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. clip — to cut
  16. board — a committee
  17. clip — for paper
  18. prune — to trim
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. chest — a box
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. foot — a measure
  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