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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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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: kid · hide · dip · current · fan · ground · hand · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kid — child
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. current — happening now
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. dip — to sink
  12. hand — help
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. current — electric
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. current — of water
  17. ground — a position
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. kid — to tease
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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