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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. ground — crushed
  6. chest — of your body
  7. can — to be able to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. ground — a position
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. can — a tin
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. game — a match
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. game — wild animals
  24. kid — child

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