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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. drill — the tool
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hand — help
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. kick — in football
  11. drill — a practice
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. rest — what's left
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. drill — army training
  18. pound — a weight
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. bulb — for light
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. rest — a break
  24. hand — part of the body

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