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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. field — a subject
  3. club — for dancing
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. suit — in cards
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. suit — to fit
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. field — for sport
  13. wake — a trail
  14. field — farmland
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. shower — rain
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. shower — to wash
  24. suit — clothes

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