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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · capital · rush · wound · wake · ground · mark · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mark — a trace
  3. capital — a city
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. ground — the earth
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ground — crushed
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. ground — a position
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mark — a grade
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. capital — money
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. wake — a trail
  24. kid — child

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