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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. band — a music group
  4. ground — a position
  5. tube — the underground
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. kid — child
  10. ground — crushed
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. kid — to tease
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pitch — completely
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. ground — the earth
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rest — a break
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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