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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: chest · present · can · kid · straw · spell · fine · hide

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spell — a short time
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — a tin
  7. spell — letters
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spell — magic
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chest — a box
  13. fine — all right
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chest — of your body
  16. present — a gift
  17. fine — high quality
  18. present — the time now
  19. chest — of your body
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. can — to be able to
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. kid — child
  24. hide — animal skin

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