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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: patient · ground · cap · ruler · content · perch · ball · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cap — of ice
  5. ground — the earth
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. content — the amount
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cap — a hat
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ground — a position
  14. content — happy
  15. cap — a lid
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ball — a great time
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. perch — 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