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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. roll — a cake
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stock — goods
  11. squash — the sport
  12. face — to confront
  13. rush — hurry
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. squash — to crush

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