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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. cold — an illness
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. band — a ring
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rule — government
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. rule — a law
  17. band — a music group
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pound — a weight
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. stem — to come from
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. stem — a stem cell

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