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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. hand — help
  8. wind — moving air
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. hand — in cards
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. kid — to tease
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. date — on the calendar

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