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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. swing — to play on
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rest — a break
  7. swing — music
  8. lie — to recline
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wound — an injury
  12. can — to be able to
  13. wound — an injury
  14. swing — in golf
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cell — in biology
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. can — a tin
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. can — a tin
  24. hide — animal skin

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