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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: fall · kid · rule · club · hide · dip

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fall — the season
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. kid — child
  7. fall — to drop
  8. club — for dancing
  9. rule — a law
  10. kid — to tease
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fall — to drop
  15. club — for golf
  16. dip — to sink
  17. rule — government
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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