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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: present · firm · hide · cold · bass · fine · chest · clip

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — decided
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. firm — steady
  8. fine — all right
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chest — a box
  11. clip — for paper
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bass — low music
  14. clip — a video
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bass — the fish
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fine — high quality
  23. present — there
  24. chest — of your body

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