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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cap — a hat
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — magic
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — child
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. club — for dancing
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cap — a lid
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. club — a group
  22. cap — of ice
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. club — for golf

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