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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fork — in a road
  9. spell — magic
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spell — letters
  20. ground — crushed
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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