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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hand — help
  4. present — the time now
  5. kid — child
  6. clip — a video
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. rest — what's left
  9. clip — to cut
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rest — a break
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. present — there
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. present — a gift
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rest — what's left
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pound — a weight

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