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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. kid — to tease
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. file — a tool
  9. stock — goods
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. kid — child
  13. file — a document
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. stock — shares
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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