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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 · kid · vault · charge · degree · hide · straw · patient

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. rest — what's left
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. vault — a safe
  6. charge — in control
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. charge — a price
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rest — a break
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rest — what's left
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. charge — electricity
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. degree — an amount
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. kid — child
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. degree — temperature
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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