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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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 — to tease
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. tear — to rip
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. net — after costs
  9. chair — a leader
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pit — in a race
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. kid — child
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. net — for catching
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. pit — a hole
  23. net — in sport
  24. bulb — for light

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