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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. charge — a price
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — in control
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bat — the animal
  13. ground — the earth
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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