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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: rule · kid · bulb · rest · game · tear · hide · season

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. season — in sport
  4. rest — what's left
  5. kid — child
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rule — government
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. season — of the year
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rule — a law
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rest — a break
  19. game — wild animals
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. game — a match
  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