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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. mate — a friend
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. chest — a box
  5. hand — help
  6. mate — to breed
  7. degree — from a university
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. scale — size or range
  10. hand — in cards
  11. object — to protest
  12. chest — of your body
  13. object — an aim
  14. kid — to tease
  15. object — a thing
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. degree — temperature
  18. scale — in music
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. degree — an amount
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kid — child
  23. mate — a partner
  24. scale — for weighing

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