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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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. foot — the bottom
  4. spring — the season
  5. snap — to click
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. scale — size or range
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. spring — a coil
  14. kid — to tease
  15. spring — of water
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. present — a gift
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. present — there
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. scale — in music
  24. present — the time now

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