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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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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: kid · safe · wound · foot · cabinet · hide · mouse · stem

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. kid — child
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. foot — a measure
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kid — to tease

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