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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: hide · fall · squash · foot · bark · kid · row · ball

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. row — to paddle
  7. foot — a measure
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bark — to shout
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kid — child
  17. row — a line
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. squash — the sport
  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