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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. game — wild animals
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. race — humankind
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mine — for digging
  18. kid — to tease
  19. race — a contest
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. game — a match
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. lean — thin

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