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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · hide · cold · ruler · present · toast

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — an illness
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. wound — an injury
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. present — the time now
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. present — there
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. toast — bread
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cold — not warm

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