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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitch — completely
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bore — to tire
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. chip — for betting
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. row — a line
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bore — to drill
  17. hand — help
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. kid — child
  24. wake — a trail

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