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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. charge — in control
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ground — the earth
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. charge — a price
  13. rash — hasty
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. ground — a position
  16. vault — a safe
  17. charge — electricity
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. rash — a series
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. ground — crushed
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. saw — the tool

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