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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stock — goods
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. hand — help
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rest — what's left
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rest — a break
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lie — to recline
  19. cell — a phone
  20. stock — shares
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hide — animal skin

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