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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. scale — in music
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. foot — a measure
  13. chair — a leader
  14. scale — size or range
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. spring — a coil
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. spring — the season
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. spring — of water
  24. pitch — a sports field

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