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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. present — the time now
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — there
  22. tube — a container
  23. kid — child
  24. wind — moving air

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