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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 124 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rush — hurry
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. root — the cause
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. kid — to tease
  21. root — of a word
  22. row — to paddle
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. root — of a plant

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