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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. bear — the animal
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. present — there
  7. bear — the animal
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. toast — bread
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. present — the time now
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. pound — a weight
  19. present — a gift
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wind — moving air
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. saw — 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