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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. mate — a partner
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. stem — to come from
  8. plane — a tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. kid — to tease
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. chest — a box
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chest — of your body
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mate — to breed
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mate — a friend
  23. chest — of your body
  24. plane — an aircraft

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