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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. kid — child
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stock — goods
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stem — to come from
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. hand — help
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. stock — shares
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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