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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 116 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. court — of law
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. chip — for betting
  6. craft — a skill
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — the underground
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. kid — to tease
  14. craft — boats
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cold — an illness
  20. kid — child
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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