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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. cell — a phone
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. face — to confront
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. face — part of the head
  12. last — finally
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. last — final
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cell — in biology
  24. last — to go on

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