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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 124 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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. charge — a price
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fall — the season
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. squash — to crush
  7. field — farmland
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. squash — the sport
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. row — to paddle
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. field — for sport
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. fall — to drop
  18. charge — in control
  19. field — a subject
  20. kid — child
  21. charge — electricity
  22. row — a line
  23. sharp — clever
  24. fall — to drop

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