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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fork · hide · last · season · patient · wound · kid · rash

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. season — in sport
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. wound — an injury
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rash — hasty
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rash — a series
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. season — of the year
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. fork — in a road
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. last — finally
  22. kid — child
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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