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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wake — a trail
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. hand — help
  10. spring — the season
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mark — a trace
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. spring — a coil
  15. hand — in cards
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. kid — child
  18. spring — of water
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. stem — to come from

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