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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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. tube — a container
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. clip — a video
  8. kid — to tease
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. squash — to crush
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. perch — the fish
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — a stone
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. kid — child
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bark — to shout
  24. perch — for a bird

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