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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: rest · tube · chair · march · kick · kid · hide · file

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tube — the underground
  6. file — a line of people
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rest — what's left
  9. tube — a container
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a document
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. file — a tool
  19. kid — child
  20. kick — in football
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. kid — to tease
  24. march — the month

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