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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bank — for money
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — child
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bank — for money
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. content — the amount
  21. cell — in biology
  22. content — happy
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bowl — a dish

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