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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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 — to tease
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. band — a ring
  7. chip — for betting
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. content — the amount
  10. snap — to click
  11. row — to paddle
  12. face — to confront
  13. kid — child
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. row — a line
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. face — to point toward
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. chip — to eat
  20. band — a music group
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. content — happy
  23. face — part of the head
  24. row — a quarrel

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