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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's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cap — a hat
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fork — in a road
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mine — for digging
  15. chest — a box
  16. kid — child
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. lean — thin
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. chest — of your body

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