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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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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. face — to confront
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. kid — child
  5. net — after costs
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bound — certain
  10. race — a contest
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. face — part of the head
  13. net — for catching
  14. bound — tied together
  15. object — a thing
  16. race — humankind
  17. face — to point toward
  18. race — the arms race
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bound — obliged
  21. object — to protest
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. net — in sport
  24. object — an aim

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