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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 124 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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468
Word bank
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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cell — a phone
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cell — in biology
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. season — in sport
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cap — a hat
  15. chest — of your body
  16. season — of the year
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. chest — a box
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cap — of ice
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cap — a lid
  24. leaves — to go away

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