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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 · hide · cell · chest · spring · dip · fork · coach

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. dip — to sink
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fork — in a road
  7. spring — the season
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chest — a box
  12. spring — of water
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. spring — a coil
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chest — of your body

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