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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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. shower — rain
  4. kid — child
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. saw — the tool
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pound — a weight
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. field — a subject
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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