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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — moving air
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. file — a tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. file — a line of people
  10. saw — the tool
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. root — the cause
  20. row — to paddle
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. file — a document
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — a line

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