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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. cap — a lid
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cap — a hat
  8. kid — to tease
  9. land — ground
  10. kick — in football
  11. spell — a short time
  12. land — to come down
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. kid — child
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cap — of ice
  23. land — a country
  24. pitcher — a jug

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