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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. kid — to tease
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rock — music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. shower — rain
  13. march — the month
  14. rock — a stone
  15. march — music
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. march — the month
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kid — child
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. hand — help

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