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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: land · file · wound · rule · calf · kid · bound · hide

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wound — an injury
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wound — an injury
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. file — a document
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. rule — a law
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. land — a country
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. land — to come down
  20. rule — government
  21. file — a tool
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. bound — obliged
  24. kid — child

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