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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.

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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: wound · cold · deal · lie · hide · perch · land · ruler

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. deal — to handle
  4. land — ground
  5. cold — not warm
  6. land — to come down
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. perch — the fish
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. land — a country
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cold — the Cold War

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