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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 120 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: saw · pound · face · hide · swing · staff · wound · kid

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. wound — an injury
  5. saw — the tool
  6. swing — to play on
  7. staff — employees
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. kid — child
  11. wound — an injury
  12. saw — the tool
  13. swing — music
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. staff — a stick
  18. face — to point toward
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. kid — to tease
  21. face — to confront
  22. staff — employees
  23. swing — in golf
  24. pound — a weight

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