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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. club — a group
  3. content — happy
  4. kid — child
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. club — for golf
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. row — a line
  12. content — the amount
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. club — for dancing
  18. spring — of water
  19. kid — to tease
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. spring — the season

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