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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 124 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cap — a hat
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cap — a lid
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cap — of ice
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kid — child
  14. rush — hurry
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bank — for money
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bank — for money
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bank — of a river

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