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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cold — not warm
  9. field — for sport
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cold — an illness
  12. suit — clothes
  13. field — a subject
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — farmland
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fall — the season
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. hand — help
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hand — part of the 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