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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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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: cell · file · game · kid · jam · straw · squash · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cell — a phone
  4. file — a tool
  5. squash — to crush
  6. cell — in biology
  7. game — a match
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. file — a line of people
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. squash — the sport
  18. kid — child
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a document
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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