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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 120 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. kick — in football
  5. spring — of water
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spring — the season
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. drill — army training
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. drill — a practice
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. spring — a coil
  24. arm — a part of something

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