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

Word bank: chest · march · bank · wave · hide · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bank — for money
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bank — of a river
  9. kid — child
  10. march — music
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. march — the month
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. march — the month
  16. bank — for money
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin

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