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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. chest — of your body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. kid — child
  5. field — a subject
  6. vault — a safe
  7. rash — a series
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — to tease
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. ground — a position
  15. rash — hasty
  16. ground — the earth
  17. field — for sport
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. chest — a box
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — a weight
  23. ground — crushed
  24. field — farmland

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