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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. ball — a round shape
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bound — certain
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. ball — a great time
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. kid — child
  12. bound — obliged
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wind — moving air
  16. club — a group
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. club — for dancing
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cold — not warm
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. club — for golf
  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