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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. bank — for money
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bank — for money
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. tube — the underground
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bank — of a river
  21. tube — a container
  22. swing — to play on
  23. stock — goods
  24. swing — 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