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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.

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 · lean · craft · land · court · bulb · cold · date

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. date — the fruit
  3. land — ground
  4. bulb — for light
  5. craft — boats
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. land — to come down
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. land — a country
  15. court — of law
  16. bulb — for light
  17. lean — to bend
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — of a king
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. court — for sport
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. craft — a skill

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