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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. can — a tin
  3. firm — steady
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. firm — decided
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. root — the cause
  10. pit — in a race
  11. root — of a word
  12. can — a tin
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wound — an injury
  16. shower — to wash
  17. can — to be able to
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. kid — to tease
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. kid — child
  22. firm — a company
  23. mine — for digging
  24. shower — rain

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