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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bass — low music
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bear — the animal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bass — the fish
  15. kid — child
  16. clip — to cut
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cold — not warm
  19. clip — a video
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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