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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cue — a hint
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cold — not warm
  8. key — for a lock
  9. shower — rain
  10. march — the month
  11. dip — to sink
  12. key — the most important part
  13. march — the month
  14. cue — a signal
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. march — music
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. kid — child
  20. cue — for pool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cold — an illness
  23. shower — to wash
  24. key — in music

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