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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: tear · mark · roll · prune · chest · wave · ground · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mark — a grade
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mark — a trace
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. roll — a list
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. ground — a position
  16. roll — a cake
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ground — the earth
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ground — crushed
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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