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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. 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. pit — a hole
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. root — the cause
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — of a plant
  18. 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