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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. rock — music
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. drill — the tool
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. drill — a practice
  17. clip — a video
  18. rock — a stone
  19. drill — army training
  20. clip — for paper
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cold — the Cold War

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