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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. roll — a cake
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. land — a country
  7. bank — for money
  8. land — to come down
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cell — in biology
  11. march — music
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. roll — a list
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. march — the month
  16. land — ground
  17. bank — for money
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. kid — child
  20. bank — of a river
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cell — a phone
  23. kid — to tease
  24. march — the month

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