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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 116 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: kid · stick · row · present · hide · object · ground · vault

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. object — to protest
  5. present — a gift
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. ground — a position
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. present — the time now
  14. object — a thing
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. present — there
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. kid — child
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. object — an aim
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. vault — a safe
  24. ground — the earth

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