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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. pound — a weight
  5. club — for golf
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stem — to come from
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bear — the animal
  16. club — a group
  17. bear — the animal
  18. scale — in music
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. scale — size or range

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