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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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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. current — happening now
  8. file — a document
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — a trail
  12. current — of water
  13. file — a line of people
  14. kid — child
  15. file — a tool
  16. pit — in a race
  17. current — electric
  18. chest — of your body

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