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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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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 · game · mate · cold · tear · rush · kick · hand

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mate — a friend
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. game — a match
  8. mate — a partner
  9. hand — help
  10. tear — to rip
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. tear — from crying
  19. game — wild animals
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cold — an illness
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — not warm

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