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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 116 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 · bear · cap · pitch · nail · squash · hide · field

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cap — of ice
  10. squash — to crush
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. field — a subject
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kid — to tease
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. pitch — completely
  19. squash — the sport
  20. field — for sport
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. kid — child

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