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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 116 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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — music
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mate — a friend
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mate — to breed
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rash — a series
  18. kid — child
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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