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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. current — happening now
  11. chip — for betting
  12. current — of water
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. kid — child
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. current — electric
  20. chip — to eat
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. kid — to tease
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stand — to bear

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