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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 will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. lie — to recline
  11. march — music
  12. bat — the animal
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. march — the month
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. board — to get on
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. lie — an untruth

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