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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rash — hasty
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — the earth
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. foot — a measure
  11. rash — a series
  12. rock — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rock — a stone
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. clip — for paper
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. ground — crushed
  20. clip — a video
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. kid — to tease
  23. ground — a position
  24. rash — on the skin

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