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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cap — a hat
  3. lie — to recline
  4. wound — an injury
  5. board — a committee
  6. chair — a leader
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bat — the animal
  14. board — to get on
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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