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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. shower — rain
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — not warm
  18. press — to push
  19. kid — child
  20. press — newspapers
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. press — a publisher
  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