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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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. band — a ring
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fine — all right
  7. tear — to rip
  8. chip — for betting
  9. band — a music group
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. tear — from crying
  24. coach — a trainer

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