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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mate — a partner
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mate — to breed
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mate — a friend
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bulb — for light
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bulb — for light
  17. snap — to click
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — a weight
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bulb — of a plant

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