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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. content — the amount
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. march — the month
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. content — happy
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. tube — a container
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. march — music
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pit — a hole
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. kid — to tease
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. march — the month
  24. pit — in a race

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