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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. can — to be able to
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kick — in football
  7. file — a tool
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. march — the month
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. drill — army training
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. file — a document
  19. can — a tin
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. can — a tin
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. drill — the tool
  24. kick — with a leg

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