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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 120 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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. row — a line
  7. clip — a video
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cue — a signal
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. kid — child
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cue — for pool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. fall — the season
  22. row — to paddle
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cue — a hint

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