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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: hide · season · face · kid · capital · stem · pitcher · hand

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. season — in sport
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. face — part of the head
  12. capital — money
  13. kid — to tease
  14. season — of the year
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. stem — to come from
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hand — help
  21. face — to point toward
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. face — to confront

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