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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: field · hide · toast · nail · file · cue · kid · rest

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rest — a break
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cue — a hint
  6. rest — what's left
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. file — a line of people
  10. field — a subject
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. field — for sport
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — child
  17. toast — bread
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cue — for pool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. field — farmland
  24. cue — a signal

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