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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bank — for money
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stock — goods
  12. file — a document
  13. stock — shares
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bank — for money
  17. fine — all right
  18. kid — child
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fine — high quality
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bank — of a river
  24. safe — out of danger

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