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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pit — in a race
  3. row — a line
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. march — the month
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pit — a hole
  13. wind — moving air
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. stock — shares
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. stock — goods
  23. kid — child
  24. pound — a weight

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