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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: bowl · hide · file · cabinet · bass · chair · stick · kid

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. kid — child
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. file — a document
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bass — low music
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. kid — to tease
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. file — a line of people
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. file — a tool
  24. bowl — to roll

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