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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. field — farmland
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — in cards
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mug — a face
  10. hand — help
  11. prune — to trim
  12. field — a subject
  13. chest — a box
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kid — child
  18. mug — to rob
  19. field — for sport
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mug — a cup
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. chest — of your body

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