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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 120 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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. spell — a short time
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. spell — letters
  7. kid — child
  8. scale — size or range
  9. spell — magic
  10. field — farmland
  11. cue — a signal
  12. field — a subject
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. field — for sport
  15. cue — a hint
  16. scale — in music
  17. net — in sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. net — after costs
  20. kid — to tease
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. lie — to recline
  24. cue — for pool

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