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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. hand — help
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bulb — for light
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mug — a face
  10. bulb — for light
  11. mug — a cup
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rash — a series
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. mug — to rob

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