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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · cell · hand · toast · present · kid

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. kid — to tease
  4. present — a gift
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. toast — bread
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cell — in biology
  12. hand — in cards
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. kid — child
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cell — a phone
  17. present — there
  18. 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