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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. kid — to tease
  8. court — for sport
  9. spell — letters
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. land — a country
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. tube — the underground
  14. court — of law
  15. spell — magic
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. spell — a short time
  19. kid — child
  20. bass — low music
  21. court — of a king
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bass — the fish
  24. tube — a container

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