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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. clip — to cut
  3. firm — steady
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. hand — in cards
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kid — to tease
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — a company
  14. hand — help
  15. kid — child
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. tube — the underground
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. tube — a container
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a skill
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. tube — in a tire

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