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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wound — an injury
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. current — of water
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. wound — an injury
  10. charge — a price
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. field — for sport
  13. kid — child
  14. field — a subject
  15. current — electric
  16. charge — in control
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. charge — electricity
  21. bat — the animal
  22. field — farmland
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. current — happening now

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