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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rock — music
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. scale — in music
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. band — a ring
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — completely
  17. drill — army training
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. kid — child
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. band — a music group
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. scale — for weighing

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