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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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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: row · kid · wave · wound · charge · hide · snap · bulb

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. charge — a price
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wound — an injury
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. charge — electricity
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. charge — in control
  18. row — a line
  19. bulb — for light
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. kid — child
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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