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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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. root — of a plant
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. kid — to tease
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. shower — rain
  15. root — of a word
  16. saw — the tool
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. net — for catching
  20. root — the cause
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wake — a trail
  24. kick — in football

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