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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mate — a partner
  7. court — of a king
  8. kid — child
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bear — the animal
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cold — an illness
  16. court — for sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mate — to breed
  23. court — of law
  24. field — farmland

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