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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. last — to go on
  7. bound — tied together
  8. last — finally
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bound — obliged
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. key — the most important part
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. key — in music
  16. bound — certain
  17. kick — in football
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — final
  20. kid — child
  21. key — for a lock
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — crushed

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