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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. drill — the tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. chest — a box
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. prune — to trim
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. drill — army training
  14. bound — certain
  15. board — to get on
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — tied together
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wake — a trail
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. chest — of your body
  24. board — a committee

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