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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rest — what's left
  6. file — a line of people
  7. ground — the earth
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rest — a break
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. file — a document
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. mark — a trace
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. scale — size or range
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. mark — a grade
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. file — a tool
  23. rest — what's left
  24. ground — a position

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