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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called 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. drill — army training
  3. perch — the fish
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. club — a group
  7. kid — to tease
  8. club — for golf
  9. drill — a practice
  10. field — farmland
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. club — for dancing
  13. kid — child
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. deal — to handle
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — for sport
  20. drill — the tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chest — a box
  24. plane — in geometry

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