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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a word
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. season — in sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. swing — music
  13. bulb — for light
  14. swing — to play on
  15. prune — to trim
  16. root — of a plant
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. swing — in golf
  19. season — of the year
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bark — to shout
  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