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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kid — child
  4. cue — a hint
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stand — to bear
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bark — to shout
  9. mate — to breed
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mate — a friend
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mate — a partner

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