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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chest — of your body
  4. kid — child
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. shower — rain
  8. swing — music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. kid — to tease
  19. swing — in golf
  20. wound — an injury
  21. swing — to play on
  22. rash — a series
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rash — hasty

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