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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wound — an injury
  5. file — a document
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. tube — a container
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. file — a tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tube — the underground
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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