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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: can · ground · bat · spell · hide · leaves · kid · wound

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — the animal
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. can — to be able to
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kid — to tease
  13. spell — magic
  14. ground — a position
  15. can — a tin
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. kid — child
  18. can — a tin
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ground — the earth
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wound — an injury

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