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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. land — to come down
  6. face — part of the head
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. land — ground
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. spell — magic
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. spell — letters
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bank — for money
  21. land — a country
  22. bore — to tire
  23. face — to confront
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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