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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: chest · cold · fall · court · hide · charge · mate · kid

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. charge — a price
  4. fall — to drop
  5. court — for sport
  6. kid — child
  7. court — of law
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. court — of a king
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fall — the season
  12. charge — in control
  13. mate — a partner
  14. charge — electricity
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mate — to breed
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fall — to drop

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