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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. face — to confront
  3. can — a tin
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. file — a tool
  6. kid — to tease
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. file — a document
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. can — a tin
  16. face — to point toward
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. kid — child
  19. face — part of the head
  20. net — in sport
  21. plane — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. hide — to keep secret

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