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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 116 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 stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. wound — an injury
  5. march — the month
  6. bear — the animal
  7. march — music
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bat — the animal
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. march — the month
  15. vault — a safe
  16. season — in sport
  17. drill — army training
  18. bear — the animal
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — the tool
  23. season — of the year
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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