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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: rule · hide · swing · straw · chair · field · kid · rest

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rule — a law
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — child
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rest — a break
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. rule — government
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. swing — music
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. swing — to play on
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. field — farmland
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. field — for sport
  24. kid — to tease

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