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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. season — of the year
  3. kid — child
  4. game — a match
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. season — in sport
  7. row — to paddle
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. tube — a container
  11. row — a line
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. game — wild animals
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. tube — the underground
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. kid — to tease
  24. content — videos and posts

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