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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. charge — a price
  5. chest — of your body
  6. charge — electricity
  7. row — to paddle
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. kid — child
  10. charge — in control
  11. net — after costs
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rush — hurry
  16. chest — a box
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. kid — to tease
  23. net — in sport
  24. calf — a young animal

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