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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — low music
  7. kid — child
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — a subject
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — farmland
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mug — a face
  22. field — for sport
  23. mug — a cup
  24. wind — to turn a key

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