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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. row — a line
  3. kid — child
  4. squash — the sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. bat — the animal
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. rash — a series
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. prune — to trim
  18. dip — to sink
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kid — to tease
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — in an idiom

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