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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. squash — to crush
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ground — a position
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. rest — a break
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. ground — the earth
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rest — what's left
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. file — a tool
  24. ruler — for measuring

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