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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. ball — a dance
  3. land — to come down
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kid — to tease
  6. land — ground
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bass — low music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bass — the fish
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. ball — a great time
  14. kid — child
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. land — a country
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. nail — on a finger

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