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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. snap — to click
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. squash — to crush
  24. straw — dry grass

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