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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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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: kid · rest · club · season · hide · bat · bound · date

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. season — in sport
  3. club — for dancing
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bound — obliged
  15. club — a group
  16. season — of the year
  17. date — the fruit
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bat — the animal
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. club — for golf
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. rest — what's left

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