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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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. foot — the bottom
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. hand — help
  8. roll — a list
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. foot — a measure
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kid — child
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. roll — a cake
  21. perch — the fish
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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