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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bulb — for light
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bulb — for light
  7. ground — a position
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. kid — to tease
  12. press — to push
  13. dip — to sink
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. row — a line
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. ground — crushed
  21. row — to paddle
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. row — a quarrel

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