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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 124 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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468
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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. face — to confront
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cue — for pool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spring — the season
  7. kid — to tease
  8. content — happy
  9. perch — the fish
  10. content — the amount
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. cue — a signal
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cue — a hint
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wind — moving air
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. kid — child

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