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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. shower — rain
  4. bore — to tire
  5. game — a match
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. board — to get on
  8. fork — in a road
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cell — in biology
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bore — to drill
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. cell — a phone
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. board — a committee
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kid — child
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden 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