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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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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: hide · drill · kick · bark · wake · kid · cap · land

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. land — to come down
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cap — a lid
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. kid — child
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. drill — army training
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. kick — in football

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