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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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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: last · spring · hide · cell · bowl · tear · mouse · rush

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rush — hurry
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. last — final
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. spring — the season
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. tear — to rip

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