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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 116 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. ground — a position
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. ground — crushed
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. club — for golf
  13. fine — high quality
  14. club — for dancing
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. club — a group
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mine — for digging
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. fine — all right
  23. snap — to click
  24. leaves — to go away

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