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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
468
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: hide · stick · fan · foot · can · tear · squash · rash

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rash — a series
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. can — to be able to
  5. squash — the sport
  6. tear — to rip
  7. foot — a measure
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rash — hasty
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. can — a tin
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. can — a tin
  24. hide — animal skin

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