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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pop — music
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. hand — help
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. pop — to visit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. can — to be able to
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. can — a tin
  18. cold — an illness
  19. can — a tin
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. pop — soda
  23. land — to come down
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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