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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. band — a ring
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. band — a music group
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cap — of ice
  13. kid — to tease
  14. shower — to wash
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. pitch — completely
  19. foot — a measure
  20. kick — in football
  21. kid — child
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. band — a rubber band

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