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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 120 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. current — electric
  3. court — for sport
  4. kid — to tease
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. current — happening now
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. wake — a trail
  12. court — of a king
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. court — of law
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. current — of water
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. chest — of your body
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. kid — child
  24. patient — a sick person

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