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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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 — animal skin
  2. kid — to tease
  3. firm — decided
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. firm — a company
  7. field — farmland
  8. spring — of water
  9. kid — child
  10. spring — the season
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. field — a subject
  16. scale — in music
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. field — for sport
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. firm — steady
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. scale — size or range
  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