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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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. spring — the season
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. mark — a grade
  6. stand — to bear
  7. charge — a price
  8. track — a path
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kid — to tease
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. charge — in control
  23. charge — electricity
  24. stand — for spectators

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