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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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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: file · firm · wound · mine · hide · cabinet · kid · march

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. march — music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. firm — decided
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. march — the month
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. file — a tool
  18. march — the month
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. firm — steady
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. firm — a company

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