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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cell — in biology
  5. face — to point toward
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pop — music
  8. pit — in a race
  9. face — to confront
  10. pop — to visit
  11. capital — money
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pop — soda
  18. kid — child
  19. capital — a city
  20. spring — of water
  21. face — part of the head
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. cell — a phone

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