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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: bay · kid · kick · wound · cell · hide

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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. kid — child
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cell — a phone
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kick — in football
  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