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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: pit · swing · bark · last · rock · hide · kid · rash

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. swing — to play on
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. rash — a series
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rock — a stone
  9. kid — child
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. last — to go on
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pit — in a race
  23. rock — music
  24. swing — music

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