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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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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: cold · ruler · hide · last · bass · cabinet · wound · prune

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — finally
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. last — to go on
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bass — low music
  13. last — final
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cold — not warm
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bass — the fish
  24. ruler — for measuring

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