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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. kid — to tease
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. face — to confront
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. pound — a weight
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. mine — for digging
  20. date — the fruit
  21. face — part of the head
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. face — to point toward
  24. kid — child

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