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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 water is too ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hand — help
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bass — low music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bound — certain
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. press — to push
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bore — to drill
  16. spell — letters
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bore — to tire
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bound — obliged
  22. press — a publisher
  23. spell — magic
  24. bound — tied together

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