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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. object — to protest
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stock — shares
  8. band — a ring
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. band — a music group
  12. stock — goods
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. object — an aim
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kid — child
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. object — a thing

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