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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rash — hasty
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rash — a series
  6. staff — employees
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. kid — child
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. ground — a position
  13. march — the month
  14. ground — crushed
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cell — in biology
  17. staff — employees
  18. cell — a phone
  19. ground — the earth
  20. kid — to tease
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. march — music

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