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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cell — a phone
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. clip — a video
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. clip — for paper
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. lean — to bend
  17. clip — to cut
  18. kick — in football
  19. lean — thin
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bear — the animal

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