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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. fine — all right
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. tear — to rip
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. kid — child
  12. charge — electricity
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. fine — high quality
  18. tear — from crying
  19. kid — to tease
  20. clip — a video
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. charge — in control
  23. clip — to cut
  24. charge — a price

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