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

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. drill — the tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. swing — in golf
  7. key — for a lock
  8. pit — a hole
  9. key — the most important part
  10. swing — music
  11. kid — to tease
  12. key — in music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. drill — army training
  15. chest — a box
  16. drill — a practice
  17. kid — child
  18. swing — to play on

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