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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: hide · kid · toast · bass · field · deal · mouse · snap

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. kid — child
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bass — low music
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. field — for sport
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. snap — to click
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. field — a subject
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. field — farmland
  22. kid — to tease
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bass — the fish

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