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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: kick · hide · bowl · land · ruler · cold

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — ground
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. kick — in football
  12. land — a country
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. land — to come down
  18. kick — a thrill

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