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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. snap — to click
  5. net — in sport
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. rest — a break
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bank — of a river
  12. net — for catching
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rest — what's left
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. net — after costs
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bank — for money
  21. kid — child
  22. bank — for money
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rest — what's left

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