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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. court — of law
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. kid — to tease
  8. court — for sport
  9. file — a document
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stand — to bear
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. spring — a coil
  15. kid — child
  16. court — of a king
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. file — a tool
  20. bark — to shout
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. spring — the season
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spring — of water

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