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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ground — the earth
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. content — the amount
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. swing — to play on
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. content — happy
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. ground — crushed
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lie — to recline
  19. ground — a position
  20. branch — a division
  21. saw — the tool
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. lie — an untruth

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