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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. swing — music
  4. cell — a phone
  5. last — final
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. last — finally
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. dip — to sink
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cell — in biology
  24. last — to go on

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