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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tear — from crying
  5. file — a line of people
  6. kid — to tease
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. file — a tool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. file — a document
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. court — of law
  18. mine — for digging
  19. kid — child
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. rule — a law
  22. court — of a king
  23. bear — the animal
  24. court — for sport

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