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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hide · capital · ball · bore · row · date · kid · tube

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. tube — the underground
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. row — to paddle
  7. capital — a city
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. kid — child
  10. bore — to tire
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bore — to drill
  16. ball — a dance
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tube — a container
  19. date — the fruit
  20. capital — money
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. row — a line
  24. ball — a great time

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