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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. scale — size or range
  4. kid — to tease
  5. board — a committee
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. hand — in cards
  9. land — ground
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. track — a song
  13. board — to get on
  14. track — a path
  15. kid — child
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. land — to come down
  21. season — of the year
  22. track — to keep track
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. land — a country

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