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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: kid · wind · chip · stand · race · hide

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. race — the arms race
  8. kid — child
  9. chip — for betting
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — to bear
  12. race — humankind
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. chip — to eat

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