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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: kick · face · sharp · leaves · spring · row · hide · last

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spring — the season
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. last — final
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. last — finally
  9. face — to confront
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. face — part of the head
  13. sharp — clever
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. last — to go on
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. spring — a coil
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spring — of water
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. row — a line

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