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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mate — a partner
  3. shower — rain
  4. mate — to breed
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. craft — boats
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. staff — employees
  12. bulb — for light
  13. craft — a skill
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bulb — for light
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. staff — employees
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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