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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — ground
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. tear — to rip
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mark — a trace
  13. tear — from crying
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a list
  16. lean — thin
  17. mark — a grade
  18. roll — a cake
  19. file — a document
  20. land — a country
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. land — to come down
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. file — a tool

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