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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. sharp — clever
  8. court — for sport
  9. kid — child
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. fall — to drop
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. scale — in music
  17. toast — bread
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. court — of a king
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. land — to come down
  24. kid — to tease

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