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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. spring — of water
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bore — to drill
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pound — a weight
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — completely
  19. kid — child
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. saw — the tool

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