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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mark — a grade
  3. snap — to click
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. lean — to bend
  7. fall — to drop
  8. board — a committee
  9. hand — help
  10. row — a line
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. hand — in cards
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. fall — to drop
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. board — to get on
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mark — a trace
  23. fall — the season
  24. lean — thin

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