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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. object — to protest
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — child
  7. hand — help
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. kid — to tease
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — in cards
  15. perch — the fish
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — an aim
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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