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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — a permit
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. clip — a video
  11. lean — thin
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. band — a ring
  14. clip — for paper
  15. kid — child
  16. craft — a skill
  17. band — a music group
  18. craft — boats
  19. kid — to tease
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. clip — to cut

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