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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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. safe — out of danger
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. lean — thin
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spring — the season
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. file — a tool
  12. kid — child
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mine — for digging
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. kid — to tease
  18. file — a document
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. file — a line of people
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. perch — the fish
  24. kick — in football

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