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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. stock — goods
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. spring — a coil
  6. kid — child
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. band — a ring
  9. rest — what's left
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. band — a music group
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stock — shares
  17. drill — army training
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spring — of water
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. rest — a break
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spring — the season
  24. arm — part of the body

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