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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. tube — the underground
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. mug — to rob
  6. kid — to tease
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. mug — a face
  11. drill — the tool
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. pound — a weight
  15. drill — army training
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. perch — the fish
  18. tube — a container
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. plane — a tool
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. kid — child
  23. mug — a cup
  24. pound — to hit hard

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