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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. sharp — clever
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bass — low music
  15. row — to paddle
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. row — a line
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bass — the fish

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