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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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. net — for catching
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. game — wild animals
  6. present — a gift
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. present — there
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. game — a match
  14. net — in sport
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. kid — child
  20. present — the time now
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. net — after costs

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