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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. lie — to recline
  8. kid — to tease
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bear — the animal
  11. net — in sport
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. kid — child
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. net — for catching
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. net — after costs
  22. bat — the animal
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. row — a line

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