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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. file — a tool
  14. rock — music
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. file — a document
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rock — a stone
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. file — a line of people

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