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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 124 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. kid — child
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cap — of ice
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. deal — to handle
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wake — a trail
  16. ground — a position
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. kick — in football
  19. kid — to tease
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wound — an injury

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