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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. kid — child
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. shower — to wash
  7. tear — from crying
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. shower — rain
  10. pop — to visit
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. pop — soda
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pop — music
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kid — to tease
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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