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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wound — an injury
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pop — to visit
  8. current — happening now
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ball — a dance
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pop — soda
  14. drill — army training
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. drill — the tool
  18. current — of water
  19. ball — a great time
  20. current — electric
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pop — music

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