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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 124 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: bay · mine · pound · press · land · kid · stock · hide

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. mine — for digging
  3. land — to come down
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. land — a country
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. land — ground
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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