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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. craft — boats
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pass — a permit
  7. land — to come down
  8. kid — child
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. snap — to click
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. land — a country
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. land — ground
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. craft — a skill
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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