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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked 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. kid — child
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kid — to tease
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. board — to get on
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. board — a committee
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. mouse — the animal

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