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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. firm — decided
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. firm — steady
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. firm — a company
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pop — soda
  12. fall — the season
  13. sharp — clever
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. spring — of water
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pop — music
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. spring — the season
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cell — a phone
  24. sharp — with an edge

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