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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. row — a line
  3. march — the month
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. march — the month
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wind — moving air
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cap — a lid
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. march — music
  12. row — to paddle
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. kid — child
  16. key — for a lock
  17. cap — a hat
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. key — the most important part
  20. wind — moving air
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cap — of ice
  23. key — in music
  24. wind — to turn a key

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