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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. band — a music group
  4. mate — a friend
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bass — low music
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. kid — to tease
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bass — the fish
  15. row — a line
  16. march — the month
  17. row — to paddle
  18. kid — child
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mate — a partner
  21. march — the month
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. march — music
  24. mate — to breed

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