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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.

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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: march · face · hide · craft · prune · pit · kid · row

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. row — a line
  3. face — part of the head
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. kid — child
  7. march — the month
  8. pit — a hole
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. face — to confront
  13. row — to paddle
  14. craft — a skill
  15. kid — to tease
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pit — in a race

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