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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. kid — child
  5. clip — for paper
  6. court — for sport
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. swing — in golf
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wound — an injury
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. court — of a king
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. court — of law
  23. swing — music
  24. wound — an injury

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