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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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468
Word bank
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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 have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chair — a leader
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. spell — a short time
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pit — in a race
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spell — letters
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spell — magic
  17. pit — a hole
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. game — a match
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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