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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pop — music
  4. kid — child
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tube — a container
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. tube — the underground
  15. net — in sport
  16. pop — to visit
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. pop — soda
  21. prune — to trim
  22. net — after costs
  23. kick — in football
  24. prune — the fruit

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