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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. march — the month
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — a tool
  7. race — a contest
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bore — to tire
  12. race — humankind
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — to tease
  19. march — music
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to drill
  22. march — the month
  23. cold — an illness
  24. kid — child

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