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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: dip · wound · foot · kid · hide · bark · pound · arm

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. dip — to sink
  5. foot — a measure
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pound — a weight
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. kid — child
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. kid — to tease
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  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