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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
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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: mug · hide · spring · file · bay · tear · club · march

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. mug — to rob
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mug — a face
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. march — music
  10. tear — to rip
  11. club — for dancing
  12. march — the month
  13. spring — of water
  14. club — for golf
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. spring — the season
  19. file — a document
  20. club — a group
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mug — a cup

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