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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chest — a box
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. mug — a face
  7. content — the amount
  8. mug — to rob
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. march — the month
  12. roll — a list
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — the month
  16. mug — a cup
  17. content — happy
  18. chest — of your body
  19. march — music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. roll — a cake
  24. chest — of your body

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