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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 116 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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rule — government
  3. bat — the animal
  4. root — the cause
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cap — a lid
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rule — a law
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. cap — a hat
  17. kid — child
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. root — of a plant
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. root — of a word
  24. bark — of a tree

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