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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. shower — rain
  4. land — a country
  5. race — humankind
  6. march — music
  7. race — a contest
  8. can — to be able to
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. land — ground
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. shower — to wash
  16. march — the month
  17. can — a tin
  18. kid — child
  19. race — the arms race
  20. march — the month
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. land — to come down
  23. prune — to trim
  24. can — a tin

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