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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: press · perch · hide · kid · racket · mark · cold · chip

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chip — for betting
  6. kid — child
  7. press — a publisher
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mark — a trace
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. press — newspapers
  16. perch — the fish
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mark — a grade
  20. press — to push
  21. chip — to eat
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chip — in a computer

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