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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wind — moving air
  3. swing — music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. kid — child
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. current — electric
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wind — moving air
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. swing — to play on
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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