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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bear — the animal
  3. deal — to handle
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. chest — of your body
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. pit — in a race
  16. fork — in a road
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. pit — a hole
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. wound — an injury

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