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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rash — hasty
  3. kid — child
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. rash — a series
  7. bound — certain
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bound — obliged
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bound — tied together
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. ground — a position
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stem — of a plant

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