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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 120 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. clip — to cut
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. sharp — clever
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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