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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. drill — a practice
  5. kid — child
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. row — a line
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. drill — army training
  20. wax — to grow
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. squash — the sport
  24. drill — the tool

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