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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bore — to tire
  3. kid — child
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cap — a lid
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cap — of ice
  12. prune — to trim
  13. kid — to tease
  14. plane — a tool
  15. stock — goods
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hand — help
  20. bass — the fish
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bass — low music
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bore — to drill

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