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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 120 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pit — a hole
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. last — to go on
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. prune — to trim
  16. kick — in football
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. pit — in a race
  19. wax — to grow
  20. last — finally
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. last — final
  24. temple — a place of worship

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