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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. staff — employees
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. track — a song
  7. pitch — completely
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cold — an illness
  10. track — a path
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cold — not warm
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. track — to keep track
  20. staff — a stick
  21. bore — to tire
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. staff — employees
  24. coach — a trainer

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