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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. kid — child
  5. drill — a practice
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. net — after costs
  9. kid — to tease
  10. drill — army training
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spring — a coil
  23. branch — a division
  24. drill — the tool

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