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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. kid — to tease
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. band — a music group
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — for digging
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bass — the fish
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bass — low music
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. shower — to wash
  24. drill — a practice

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