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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bear — the animal
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. kid — child
  10. wind — moving air
  11. root — of a plant
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. kid — to tease
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rash — a series
  18. stem — to come from
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bear — the animal
  21. root — of a word
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. root — the cause
  24. rash — on the skin

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