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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. last — final
  4. spring — a coil
  5. net — for catching
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mate — a partner
  8. current — of water
  9. mate — to breed
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. current — happening now
  12. ground — a position
  13. kid — child
  14. ground — the earth
  15. mate — a friend
  16. spring — the season
  17. net — in sport
  18. spring — of water
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. net — after costs
  23. ground — crushed
  24. current — electric

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