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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  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 — child
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. kid — to tease
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. content — happy
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. game — wild animals
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. content — the amount
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. game — a match
  23. stand — to bear
  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