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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. drill — a practice
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. sharp — clever
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pitch — completely
  8. chip — to eat
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cell — a phone
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. drill — army training
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. kid — child
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chip — for betting
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cell — in biology

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