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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 116 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: leaves · press · hide · straw · kid · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — a publisher
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cell — in biology
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. press — to push
  18. hide — to keep secret

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