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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. kid — to tease
  4. march — music
  5. club — a group
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. club — for golf
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — child
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wound — an injury
  14. net — in sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. net — after costs
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. wind — moving air
  23. club — for dancing
  24. hide — to keep secret

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