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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. mate — a partner
  6. kid — child
  7. bulb — for light
  8. file — a tool
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bark — to shout
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bound — certain
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. kid — to tease
  22. file — a document
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wax — for sculpting

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