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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 116 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: stick · bay · hand · hide · ball · tear · kid · band

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. kid — to tease
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. band — a music group
  11. hand — in cards
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ball — a great time
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. tear — to rip
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. band — a ring
  23. hand — help
  24. hide — to keep secret

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