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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: stem · swing · drill · season · cold · land · calf · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. stem — to come from
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cold — an illness
  7. land — a country
  8. drill — the tool
  9. land — to come down
  10. swing — to play on
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. swing — music
  13. season — of the year
  14. cold — not warm
  15. season — in sport
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. land — ground

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