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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. root — of a word
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. shower — rain
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a plant
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rock — a stone
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rock — music
  15. pit — a hole
  16. kid — child
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. shower — to wash
  24. hide — to keep secret

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