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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 116 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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. drill — a practice
  5. hand — in cards
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. kid — child
  9. squash — to crush
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. drill — army training
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs
  19. hand — help
  20. squash — the sport
  21. net — in sport
  22. kid — to tease
  23. file — a line of people
  24. drill — the tool

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