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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. key — for a lock
  5. net — after costs
  6. hand — help
  7. kid — to tease
  8. field — a subject
  9. key — the most important part
  10. field — for sport
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. net — in sport
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. field — farmland
  15. kid — child
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. key — in music
  19. net — for catching
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — music
  22. game — a match
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. game — wild animals

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