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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. lean — to bend
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spring — the season
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. march — music
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cap — a hat
  17. lean — thin
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cap — of ice
  22. march — the month
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. hide — to keep secret

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