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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. club — a group
  3. can — to be able to
  4. club — for dancing
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. can — a tin
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. club — for golf
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. can — a tin
  12. hand — help
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. bark — to shout
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hand — in cards
  19. kick — in football
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. fan — a supporter

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