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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. track — to keep track
  5. fork — in a road
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rock — a stone
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. track — a path
  14. kid — to tease
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chest — a box
  18. rock — music
  19. track — a song
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. game — a match
  24. rock — to move gently

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