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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 120 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: race · lean · rest · kid · pound · net · hide · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. net — in sport
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. race — the arms race
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. net — for catching
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. race — a contest
  10. pound — a weight
  11. net — after costs
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. race — humankind
  16. rest — what's left
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kid — child
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rest — what's left
  22. lean — thin
  23. rest — a break
  24. kid — to tease

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