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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kick — in football
  5. cell — a phone
  6. craft — boats
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wax — to grow
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. scale — size or range
  19. craft — a skill
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — in music
  22. kid — child
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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