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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. band — a ring
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. land — a country
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. land — ground
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. kid — child
  11. rock — a stone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. track — a song
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. shower — rain
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cold — not warm
  18. track — a path
  19. land — to come down
  20. kid — to tease
  21. band — a music group
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. track — to keep track
  24. rock — music

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