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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: kid · hide · last · cell · lean · pitch

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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 — to keep secret
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. last — to go on
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cell — a phone
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. lean — thin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cell — in biology
  18. kid — child

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