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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. tear — from crying
  4. key — the most important part
  5. season — of the year
  6. tear — from crying
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. toast — bread
  11. prune — to trim
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. key — for a lock
  15. prune — to trim
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cell — in biology
  20. season — in sport
  21. cell — a phone
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. key — in music
  24. prune — the fruit

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