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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. kid — child
  5. drill — a practice
  6. pound — a weight
  7. drill — army training
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. rock — a stone
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tear — to rip
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rock — music

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