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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. firm — decided
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. ball — a great time
  6. race — the arms race
  7. drill — army training
  8. firm — steady
  9. game — wild animals
  10. ball — a dance
  11. race — humankind
  12. clip — a video
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. firm — a company
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. race — a contest
  18. kid — to tease
  19. game — a match
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. drill — the tool
  24. kid — child

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