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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. kid — child
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. scale — size or range
  6. craft — boats
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bore — to drill
  10. craft — a skill
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bore — to tire
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. scale — in music
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. dip — to sink
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. mine — belonging to me

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