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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — help
  9. mate — a friend
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cap — of ice
  16. kid — child
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cap — a hat

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