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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  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. pop — to visit
  3. charge — a price
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pop — soda
  6. clip — for paper
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pop — music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. track — a path
  13. mark — a trace
  14. kid — to tease
  15. charge — electricity
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. track — a song
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. track — to keep track
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. kid — child
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. charge — in control
  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