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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. rash — a series
  4. face — part of the head
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. file — a tool
  8. face — to confront
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. craft — a skill
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. face — to point toward
  16. craft — boats
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. branch — a division
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. file — a document
  24. bore — to drill

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