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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fall — the season
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. stock — shares
  9. fall — to drop
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. drill — army training
  13. fall — to drop
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. kid — to tease
  16. plane — a tool
  17. stock — goods
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. fork — in a road
  24. squash — the vegetable

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