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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. lean — to bend
  5. can — a tin
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kid — to tease
  8. key — in music
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. lean — thin
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bear — the animal
  15. can — a tin
  16. bear — the animal
  17. key — for a lock
  18. rash — a series
  19. can — to be able to
  20. key — the most important part
  21. hand — help
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. rash — hasty
  24. hand — part of the body

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