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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chest — a box
  3. can — a tin
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. stock — goods
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. kid — to tease
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. kid — child
  19. can — a tin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stock — shares
  24. can — to be able to

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