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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mark — a grade
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. spring — the season
  7. kid — child
  8. bear — the animal
  9. shower — rain
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. stock — shares
  12. spring — of water
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pop — music
  15. mark — a trace
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pop — to visit
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stock — goods
  22. pop — soda
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. shower — to wash

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