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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. mate — a partner
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bat — the animal
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. mate — to breed
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. kid — child
  12. ground — the earth
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ground — a position
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. vault — a safe
  18. ground — crushed
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. kid — to tease
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. dip — a sauce

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