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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. kid — child
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. row — to paddle
  8. rock — a stone
  9. kid — to tease
  10. row — a line
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. deal — to handle
  13. track — to keep track
  14. hand — help
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. track — a song
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. hand — in cards
  20. track — a path
  21. rock — music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. wound — an injury

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