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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. spring — a coil
  6. charge — electricity
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. dip — to sink
  12. kid — child
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — of water
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to click
  18. charge — a price
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. charge — in control
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spring — the season
  24. hide — to keep secret

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