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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.

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: fan · hide · spring · race · current · kid · chest · drill

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. race — the arms race
  3. chest — a box
  4. race — a contest
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. drill — army training
  10. current — of water
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kid — child
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. race — humankind
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. current — electric
  23. spring — the season
  24. current — happening now

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