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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fine — all right
  6. clip — a video
  7. fine — high quality
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. drill — a practice
  11. clip — for paper
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. kid — to tease
  18. game — a match
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. drill — army training
  21. kid — child
  22. rest — a break
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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