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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: hide · kid · ground · arm · lie · tear · mate · clip

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  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. arm — a part of something
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kid — to tease
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ground — crushed
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. ground — a position
  11. mate — to breed
  12. clip — a video
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lie — to recline
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — a friend
  19. ground — the earth
  20. kid — child
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. arm — part of the body
  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