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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: hand · kid · hide · wind · mine · pass

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kid — child
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. hand — help
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pass — a permit
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mine — for digging
  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