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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: staff · bowl · kid · chest · dip · wound · hide · rash

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. dip — to sink
  3. kid — child
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chest — of your body
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. rash — a series
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. chest — a box
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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