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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: kid · rock · racket · wound · hide · cue · cold · bore

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bore — to tire
  3. rock — a stone
  4. cue — a hint
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cue — a signal
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. kid — child
  13. bore — to drill
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cue — for pool
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. rock — music

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