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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. kid — child
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. club — for golf
  9. rule — a law
  10. squash — the sport
  11. deal — to handle
  12. kid — to tease
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for dancing
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. wax — to grow
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. rule — government
  22. squash — to crush
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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