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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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. stick — a piece of wood
  4. game — a match
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bear — the animal
  13. game — wild animals
  14. band — a ring
  15. wind — moving air
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bear — the animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hide — to keep secret

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