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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. hand — in cards
  4. kid — child
  5. hand — help
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stem — to come from
  10. fine — all right
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. snap — to click
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. stock — goods
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. stock — shares
  20. fine — high quality
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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