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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. object — a thing
  3. band — a ring
  4. race — a contest
  5. net — in sport
  6. kid — to tease
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chest — of your body
  9. perch — the fish
  10. race — the arms race
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. band — a music group
  13. chest — a box
  14. toast — bread
  15. net — after costs
  16. object — to protest
  17. kid — child
  18. race — humankind
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. chest — of your body
  21. net — for catching
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. object — an aim
  24. perch — for a bird

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