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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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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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. file — a tool
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kid — child
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. vault — a safe
  8. deal — to handle
  9. ground — crushed
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. ground — a position
  12. file — a document
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pass — a permit
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. ground — the earth
  21. shower — rain
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. file — a line of people

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