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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. scale — in music
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mug — to rob
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. saw — the tool
  9. scale — size or range
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bark — to shout
  12. ball — a dance
  13. mug — a face
  14. row — a line
  15. kid — child
  16. mug — a cup
  17. row — to paddle
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. saw — the tool
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. ball — a round shape

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