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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. swing — to play on
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cell — in biology
  6. band — a ring
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. swing — in golf
  9. squash — to crush
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — rain
  14. swing — music
  15. cell — a phone
  16. kid — child
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. squash — the sport
  20. band — a music group
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cold — not warm
  24. shower — to wash

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