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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: wave · kid · game · ground · wound · fall · hide · staff

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wound — an injury
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. staff — employees
  6. ground — a position
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fall — the season
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. game — wild animals
  17. kid — child
  18. ground — the earth
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. game — a match
  22. staff — employees
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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