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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: kid · present · face · club · hide · cold · rest · board

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. board — a committee
  9. rest — a break
  10. present — there
  11. face — to confront
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cold — not warm
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — to get on
  18. rest — what's left
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. face — to point toward
  22. cold — an illness
  23. club — for dancing
  24. face — part of the head

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