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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. land — a country
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. land — ground
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. clip — a video
  10. cap — a lid
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. track — to keep track
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bear — the animal
  16. land — to come down
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bear — the animal
  19. hand — help
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cap — a hat

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