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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 chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fine — all right
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bulb — for light
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. ball — a great time
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. sharp — clever
  13. ball — a dance
  14. spell — a short time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. spell — magic
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bulb — for light
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spell — letters
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. fine — high quality

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